Boys Arrested In Connection With Robbery Attempt In Yuba City
YUBA CITY, Calif. (CBS 13) – Yuba City Police are investigating an attempted robbery while Marysville police are investigating two additional robbery incidents in their area. Neither agency believes they are related at this point, but they're still collecting evidence.
"It's horrible, I won't even let my 3-year-old daughter come outside," said one mother of two, who was too afraid to reveal her name. "Around here, they know who you are? And then you won't be around for long."
She told CBS13 that she thinks gang activity is on the rise in her neighborhood. And after what she saw on Monday night, she is ready to move.
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"Me and my boyfriend came outside and we were out on our balcony and we seen two guys running down the street and then about five minutes later, we saw cops coming down the street," the woman said.
According to Shawna Pavey, Operations Support Manager with Yuba City Police Department, two boys were arrested on Monday night. Pavey said the two, aged 11 and 12 years old approached a man on the street and asked him for a cigarette. Then one of them pulled out a gun and demanded money. The man told the two he didn't have any and ran inside of his home to call the police.
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Yuba City investigators haven't ruled out a gang connection and are still on the hunt for the gun. Meanwhile, six days earlier, Marysville Police Department made its own arrests. A different 12-year-old and a 15-year-old were taken into custody after attempting to flee from a stolen vehicle. Their arrests occurred 45 minutes after an attempted armed robbery that began with two males asking someone for a cigarette.
"That's too coincidental and too close," said Teresa Reisinger.
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As a mother of a teenager, she believes it's up to parents to make sure they take an active role in their children's lives.
"What are these kids really doing and where are their parents while they are doing it?" she wondered. "I'm sorry but I know where my 13-year-old is all the time."
Reisinger says the ongoing teachers' strike has disrupted the kids at school, and she believes there should be more programs to occupy the kids in a positive way. Police have made no connection between the strike and these crimes.