As deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department chased a silver Kia Soul on the Fourth of July, Armand Black was watching the pursuit on TV and thought the car looked awfully familiar.
He had exactly the same vehicle until it was stolen from his driveway Wednesday.
“I kept my eyes on it. Then I said, ‘Yeah, that was my car.’” Black recalled.
As the stolen car came to a stop in Hawthorne after traveling recklessly across Southern California, five teenagers, all under the age of 18, jumped out of the Kia and ran.
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When deputies located the minors, they were taken into custody then released back to their parents.
“They're back on the street to, perhaps, break into another car who knows when” Black said. “There’s no repercussions.”
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But it appeared authorities did not have an option but to release the juvenile suspects.
“Unfortunately for the owner of the stolen vehicle, this is standard operating procedure when you have criminal activity committed by minors,” Sgt. Cheryl Dorsey, who retired from the LAPD, said.
Unless the crime is a violent felony, underage suspects will be under their guardians’ custody as they await possible criminal charges, Dorsey said.
“I would imagine that the belief system was that their brains aren't fully developed, and they don't know what they're doing, so we can't treat them as harshly as we could a hardened criminal,” she explained. “But we're starting to see young people engage in criminality at a younger and younger age.”
Black said his car was totalled, putting a huge restraint on his finances.
“It's a shame that it's come to this where there's no real law or rule to persecute people that violate people's spaces,” the victim said. “If they don't do anything, it's just going to be a wild wild west, and you can do whatever you want to.”
