"These kids need to get outside more!" should never be uttered by a cranky old man after reading something like this. Police in a Detroit suburb arrested a very, very young man twice in two days for riding around with car thieves in stolen vehicles.
The Macomb Daily reports that officers in Warren pulled over a car that had a screwdriver in its ignition. A 12-year-old boy was riding in one of the passenger seats. After a failed car chase, all of the occupants were apprehended and taken into the custody.
The 12-year-old passenger was taken to a youth home and released to his mother. The very next day, police pulled over another stolen vehicle — this time driven by a 13-year-old with the same 12-year-old from the previous day's events in the passenger seat.
Police were able to arrest the two boys after the car struck a curb. The 12-year-old, who was accompanied by a 13-year-old Detroit boy, had a "very real looking airsoft gun" in his waistband, according to police. "This was not a kid out joyriding," [Warren Police Deputy Commissioner Louis] Galasso said. "This kid was being groomed to be a car thief."
The 12-year-old was returned to the youth home, where he is still being held; the police department plans to issue citations to the boy's parents.