Saturday Crime Spree Leads to Arrest of 4 Teens

Four teens were arrested Sunday after going on a crime spree throughout the city that included breaking into parked cars, taking personal items including wallets, then going shopping with stolen credit cards.

Police got wind of the young thieves after receiving a report Sunday morning of a stolen car from the 1900 block of Falcon Ridge Drive. (The driver had left the keys in the glove compartment.) As officers were investigating the theft, dispatch received a call from a resident saying that young men were fleeing from a car that had jumped a curb.

Officers responded to Sunrise Parkway near Nikki Drive and set up a perimeter to apprehend the suspects. Two boys were caught right away, but one escaped and began jumping backyard fences. The teen ran into a home and told the resident that he was being chased by gang members and needed a ride. The resident’s brother agreed to take the boy out of the area, dropping him off in Penngrove. The teen then called his mom who picked him up, then drove him to the police station to be processed. 

Police eventually determined that the boys, ages 16 and 17, were involved in numerous auto burglaries on Saturday night in the Turtle Creek, Kings Mill, Adobe Creek neighborhoods as well as areas along Garfield Drive in Petaluma.

The teens then drove to numerous businesses located between Petaluma and Windsor and used stolen credit cards to engage in a rapid buying spree. Officers learned that the teens threw some of the stolen loot out of the Toyota while driving along streets and the US 101 corridor that included a purse, various forms of identification and other personal items such as several navigation devices that were stolen from the vehicles.

The teens, three of whom are from Petaluma, and one from Roseville, have been charged with auto theft, conspiracy, burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card, possession of stolen property and obstructing an officer.

Concerned about crime in your neighborhood? Drop Local Editor Karina Ioffee a note at karina@patch.com