Wolfie had a good point here, however, at 16, the crime would be under the juvenile system, so that wouldn't qualify under the current 3-strikes law.

There is a move to reform the 3 strikes laws throughout the U.S. to categorize "qualifying offenses" so that minor felonies won't be included in the sentencing structures.j

Sadly, in California, which has the worst application of 3-strikes, the PUBLIC defeated the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2008. Yes, the VOTERS said NO CHANGES to the law at a rate of 54% voting to KEEP the old law intact. It was not the government, but the citizens who spoke loudly that they were willing to bear the $1 billion dollars per year to imprison repeat offenders regardless of what their third crime was.