MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – A wild crime spree in Monroe County has three children facing possible charges.
The youngest is just eight years old.
Officials say that it all started when the boys were caught stealing dirt bikes from a business on South Telegraph Road near West Seventh Street in Monroe Township.
“It’s concerning,” said resident Bill Hardy.
Officials say three boys, ages eight, 11, and 13, are now in trouble for their alleged role in breaking into and stealing from several businesses in Monroe Township.
“It just seems crazy,” Hardy said. “You don’t expect kids at that age to be into that type of stuff.”
On July 8, around 8:40 p.m., officers say they spotted two kids trying to take off on several dirt bikes just stolen from a motorcycle business on Telegraph Road.
Sheriff Troy Goodnough with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department says officers first noticed a gun on one of the kids.
“It was a bb gun that looked like a Beretta handgun,” said Goodnough. “So, put yourself in the shoes in those deputies that responded. And he immediately saw the gun in the waistband.”
While police detained two of the kids, another little boy, the 11-year-old, was spotted trying to take off in a stolen vehicle out of Toledo, Ohio.
That same vehicle, investigators say, was used to ram several businesses to get inside.
“They committed a retail fraud in Cabela’s, Walmart, and Meijer here in Monroe,” Goodnough said.
Goodnough says the officers handled the situation.
“Maintaining their composure, their demeanor and being upmost professionalism that resulted in a positive outcome and a bad situation to be onset,” Goodnough said.
But most importantly, the sheriff says the kids followed orders, preventing a situation that could have ended much worse.
“They complied,” Goodnough said. “It just made for a bad situation that ended in a positive outcome. They took everybody into custody. The property was recovered. You just hope that they turn it around and get their lives on the right direction.”
All three children were released into the custody of their parents. But we’re told they may be linked to 11 additional crimes that took place in Toledo.
