12-Year-Old Accused Of Stealing Multiple Cars

A 12-year-old boy in Pontiac, Michigan has been caught allegedly stealing multiple cars on two different occasions. Surprisingly, the kid’s first heist, which was also his largest, didn’t get much media attention. But his second time around is shocking people, likely because the victim is speaking out.

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That victim is Stephanie Elowsky, owner of Elowsky Lawn Services. She lost three trucks, two of them with trailers attached, when the 12-year-old and his 13-year-old buddy struck in the middle of the night.

Surveillance footage she shared with Fox 2 Detroit shows the two youth roll up on their bicycles before they boost the pickup trucks, driving them off into the night. For Elowski, that amounted to a $150,000 insurance claim.

Like we said, it’s not the 12-year-old’s first rodeo. Just a month before he and his friend allegedly stole the trucks, he was accused of swiping seven vehicles from another business in Pontiac. Police caught him walking through the business’ parking lot while carrying a license plate.

While it’s unclear what the kid has done with each car stolen, he allegedly sold one of them for a mere $30. We’re sure it seemed like big money to him, but even in the black market that’s a tiny amount for any vehicle.

People are probably wondering how the young kid learned to steal cars or even got the idea to do such a thing. We don’t know for sure, but we do know theft rings will actively recruit kids as young as eight, teaching them how to break in and start vehicles using simple tools.

That in turn has caused quite a few problems. The theft rings like that the justice system goes light on young kids, allowing them to keep stealing cars. But that means these kids can be prolific thieves.

It’s a problem many local governments are struggling to solve.

Image via Fox 2 Detroit