VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 13-year-old Deltona boy was arrested following a series of car break-ins after his mother reported finding a stolen firearm hidden in her house, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the break-ins were reported between March 27 and April 11 on several streets along Elkcam Boulevard in Deltona.
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Investigators said they were able to use surveillance video to identify a suspect — “a thin male suspect wearing a hoodie and riding a bicycle.”
According to a release from the sheriff’s office, detectives responded to a report on Wednesday about a stolen firearm that had been found in a nearby home.
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The woman living at the home said she’d been noticing behavioral issues with her 13-year-old son, as she had been searching her property for money he’d allegedly stolen from her, the release shows. During her search, she found a 9 mm pistol near an air-conditioning unit at the side of her house, deputies said.
However, when the woman called law enforcement, her son packed a bag and ran away, according to investigators.
Detectives said the boy’s description matched that of the person seen on surveillance video. The boy was also seen in video from a neighbor’s surveillance camera, which showed him leaving the house on the night of the burglaries and wearing the same clothes, deputies said.
The release states that the boy was later found at his great-grandmother’s home, and he admitted to the break-ins, taking the gun from a pickup truck near his home, and a separate package theft, deputies said.
The teen faces charges of armed burglary, grand theft of a firearm, four counts of burglary and four counts of petit theft.
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