12-Year-Old Driver Arrested In Oakland After Stolen Car Chase
OAKLAND (BCN) - A 12-year-old boy was arrested in Oakland this weekend after leading police on a chase in a stolen car, a police lieutenant said Tuesday.
San Leandro police received a report at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday of a stolen white Toyota Camry seen in the area of Haas Avenue and East 14th Street, San Leandro police Lt. Jeff Tudor said.
A police officer spotted the vehicle a short time later and tried to pull it over, but the driver did not yield, Tudor said.
The officer chased the stolen car, but when the driver began to drive erratically at high speeds, the pursuit was canceled, he said.
A few minutes later, the car was spotted by police in Oakland near the intersection of San Leandro Street and 105th Avenue, Tudor said.
The car pulled to the curb and the two occupants fled on foot, he said.
Police surrounded the area, and the driver of the car, the 12-year-old boy, was arrested shortly afterward, Tudor said. The passenger in the car had still not been found as of Tuesday, he said.
Tudor said this is not the first such incident he has seen in San Leandro involving young children.
"Kids younger and younger are starting to commit pretty serious crimes, it's just an unfortunate side of society now," he said.
"Kids at this age are turning to crime to either get from Point A to Point B, or obtain items they think they need," he said. "We're seeing kids with guns, committing robberies, leading police on car chases. And they're learning this behavior from somewhere."
No one was injured during the pursuit, he said.
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