An 11-year-old local boy was arrested Wednesday evening after he allegedly stole a woman's car from the parking lot of the Hot Springs Y.M.C.A. earlier.
The suspect was taken into custody around 6:15 p.m. in the 300 block of Mountain View Street and later charged with a felony count of theft of property more than $5,000, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He was being held without bond and is set to appear Aug. 22 in Garland County Juvenile Court. The Sentinel-Record follows The Associated Press privacy policies and does not publish the names of juvenile offenders unless they are charged as adults.
According to reports, a local woman reported the theft of her black 2011 Nissan Juke, valued at $17,000, which was taken from the lot at the Hot Springs Y.M.C.A., located at 130 Werner St. Two cellphones in the vehicle were equipped with a "find phone" app that was utilized and showed the phones to be in the area of Campbell and Avery streets.
Hot Springs police Lt. S. Roach responded to that area and located the car parked on Mountain View just off Avery, and as he approached, the suspect exited the driver's seat and immediately stated the car was not his.
He claimed someone had thrown the keys to the car down in front of him so he took the car.
The suspect was taken into custody and during a pat down search the officer located the two stolen phones in his pocket along with a red bandanna, the keys to the vehicle and $2.
The victim and a friend had reportedly been working out at the Y.M.C.A. and had left their phones in the car along with two purses and two gym bags. The missing bags were subsequently found in a trash can on Mountain View just a few yards from where the vehicle was parked.
The victims came to the scene and retrieved their stolen items and noted there was $2 missing from one victim's wallet.
The suspect was taken to the police department where he was questioned in the presence of his mother. He reportedly admitted going to the Y.M.C.A. and taking the keys from a cubby area inside the facility.
He said he walked out in the parking lot and used the remote buttons on the key fob to locate the vehicle it came from and then got inside and drove away. He also admitted to removing the purses and bags and throwing them in the trash.
Local on 08/01/2014