Montgomery County police sources say the boy has broken into dealerships five times and managed to steal cars in some cases. News4’s Aimee Cho reports.
A 12-year-old boy has repeatedly broken into car dealerships in Montgomery County, police sources tell News4. But police can’t charge him because of a juvenile justice law.
Only on 4, surveillance video shows the boy jumping through a window, rifling through offices and getting behind the wheel of a van.
In some cases, the boy has managed to drive off with cars, sources say.
Video shows the boy opening a window at Pristine Auto in Rockville early Tuesday. He climbs in head first, wanders around the dealership for about 15 minutes and searches through drawers. He even opens the fridge to look for a snack. Finally, he goes outside and can be seen searching the dealership’s vehicles.
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The boy is accused of targeting five dealerships in Montgomery County this month, including Audi and BMW in Rockville.
In each case, police could not hold him because he’s so young. Under a Maryland juvenile justice law passed two years ago, kids under age 13 cannot be charged with property crimes.
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Workers at Pristine Auto said that after the first break-in, the boy returned two days later to try to break in a second time. That time, workers were still there. They called police and officers were able to catch the boy just down the street.
Sources familiar with the investigation told News4 that after each time police have caught the boy, they have had to drop him off at home in D.C.
