How young is too young to be a car thief?
WJBK reports three boys — ages 11, 12 and 14 — have been arrested in Detroit for trying to carjack Dodge Hellcat Chargers and Challengers from a local storage lot. Officers were appalled by the ages of the suspected thieves, noting 11 is the youngest they’ve seen.
Detroit Police Lt. Clive Stewart believes criminals are employing younger kids to do their dirty work because they won’t face as harsh a sentence. “To me in my mind, I would think somebody a little older got these kids out here and are putting in orders,” he said.
“The older offenders know, ‘I can do this and not really have my hands on it because I didn’t really steal the car,'” the lieutenant continued.
“They think it’s fun and there is no penalty to it,” he said of the kids turning to a life of crime. “Doing this as long as I’ve been doing this, 11 is the youngest.”
The cars were valued between $80,000 and $90,000.
Stewart notes he’s been arresting younger offenders, including a 14-year-old who is a repeated carjacker. The kid was busted in May and was back at it again last week, stealing two cars.
“Here we are a couple of months later, we are dealing with the same juvenile once again,” said Stewart. He notes the child is out on bond, but is believed to be responsible several other armed robberies.
It is not known what charges the three young boys face.