A series of car thefts in Royal Oak culminated in the arrest of a 14-year-old boy, who now faces multiple felony charges. Over a two-month spree, beginning in January, several vehicles were stolen and in some cases later recovered, with one teen emerging as the prime suspect behind these incidents. According to ClickOnDetroit, the arrested youth has been charged with one count of receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle and three counts of unlawful driving away of an automobile, each charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The Royal Oak Police Department pieced together the pattern of the thefts after repeated incidents near the 3400 block of Devon Road and the 1900 block of Crooks Road. Security camera footage obtained during the investigations revealed a masked suspect, leading to the adolescent's arrest when he returned to a stolen Hyundai Sonata, parked in an apartment parking lot. Having been taken into custody without further ado, the suspect was seen returning to the vehicle by officers and detectives, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit.
Among the victims was Kaitlyn Scripter, whose blue Hyundai Tucson named "Gerdy" was stolen and recovered shortly after. Expressing her emotional attachment to her vehicle, she told WXYZ, "I’m really connected to my car. She has a name, her name's Gerdy." Scripter asserted that, after being used for a weekend joyride, her car was returned largely undamaged except for the ignition, which she now operates with USB cords. "Yeah these are my keys right now," Scripter explained how she adapts to start the car following the makeshift remodelling by the 14-year-old.
Now facing the consequences of his alleged actions, the teen was remanded to Oakland County Children's Village.
