OCALA, Fla. – A 12-year-old and a 13-year-old were arrested Monday after they stole a car and led officers on a chase, according to the Ocala Police Department.
Officers responded to the report of a car theft just before 6 a.m. Monday and spoke with the vehicle owner who said their Hyundai Sonata was missing.
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While police were interviewing the victim on scene, patrol officers spotted the stolen vehicle near NW 10th Street and NW Martin Luther King Avenue, according to a news release.
Officers tried to perform a traffic stop on the vehicle, but the driver fled leading police in a pursuit which ended when the vehicle “weaved in and out of several neighborhoods and main thoroughfares to include the Paddock Mall parking lot,” police said.
An officer was able to use stop sticks to deflate the car’s tires and eventually made contact with the car near the Latigo 27 apartment complex at 1601 SW 27th Ave.
“Occupying the vehicle were two juveniles, one thirteen and the other twelve,” officials said in a news release. “The driver of the vehicle, the thirteen-year-old, has had several contacts with the Ocala Police Department and was known to arresting officers. He was arrested for auto theft, fleeing to elude marked law enforcement vehicles, and no valid driver’s license.”
Officers said the two children were released to their guardians following the incident and the car was returned to its owner.