On Jan. 17, at 1:50 p.m., one of our school resource officers (SRO) was flagged down by a school security officer at Washington High School in Parkland. The security officer told the deputy that he believed he just witnessed a car theft. He said two juveniles smashed out the back passenger window of a Kia SUV and then drove away in it.
The SRO checked the surrounding area for the vehicle and spotted it at the corner of 121st St S and Alaska St S. He contacted the female driver and asked her if it was her car. In a joking manner, she told the SRO that she stole it from someone who stole it. She provided her name, but refused to provide her birth date. She and her male passenger were detained while the SRO worked to investigate the vehicle’s status.
A records check revealed that the car had not been reported stolen, so the SRO contacted the school office to locate the owner. At about the same time, a student reported that her car was missing from the lot, and it was the Kia that the SRO had stopped.
The 15-year-old driver and her 16-year-old passenger were arrested for theft of a motor vehicle.
While searching the driver’s backpack, the SRO found vehicle theft tools and marijuana. Additional charges of possession of motor vehicle theft tools and unlawful possession of marijuana were added.
During the booking process, the female suspect told her accomplice that he would only get probation for this crime. When he asked her what probation is, she replied that he will just need to attend some art classes and report to a probation officer. Then, at 18, it will all go away.
Yesterday, prosecutors charged the female suspect with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. She was placed on curfew monitoring.
The male suspect was charged with taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree. He was booked into Remann Hall and then released to a guardian. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23.