Two juveniles charged with stealing cars in eastern Madison County
Police say two metro-east juveniles have been linked to reports of at least four stolen cars, a stolen gun, and a burglary — all in Madison County.
According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, it all began to unfold on the evening of Friday, March 5 with the report of a stolen car in New Douglas. A resident on 6th Street called police to report his Saturn had been taken.
Within minutes of that report, the sheriff’s office received another call of a stolen vehicle on the east end of the county. A resident in the 6500 block of Dauderman Road in rural Alhambra reported his 2010 Chevrolet Silverado had been taken. (Police would later find the Saturn taken in New Douglas in a ditch about 1/8 mile down the road from where the truck had been stolen.)
Madison County Sheriff Capt. Mike Dixon said the stolen pickup was spotted by a friend of the victim, who recognized the vehicle, but not the occupants. The friend began to follow the truck. During the chase, the friend indicated hearing a gun shot.
“It appears the juveniles did fire a shot,” Dixon said. “But it’s unclear if they fired it in the air or at (the friend who was following them).”
The friend lost site of the truck, but it would turn up a short time later, abandoned in a ditch in the 900 block of W. North Street in Alhambra, Dixon said.
The next day, Saturday, March 6, police were taking a report of another vehicle taken in Alhambra, a Cadillac CTS stolen from a home in the 400 block of Church Street. Meanwhile, Glen Carbon police had located that Cadillac when they responded to report of a burglary in the 100 block of School Street.
Dixon said two juveniles fled on foot from the scene in Glen Carbon, but were later taken into custody. Dixon said that when police returned to the area of the alleged home burglary, they found a handgun that had been “hidden.” The handgun had been reported as stolen from Collinsville in days prior, along with the vehicle that it was in, Dixon said.
The juveniles, a 12-year-old girl from Monroe County and a 14-year-old boy from Madison County, were booked on juvenile charges related to thee vehicles taken in Alhambra and New Douglas, Dixon said. However, more charges could be forthcoming as investigators continue their work and facts are reviewed by the state’s attorney.
Dixon said all the vehicles that were taken were unlocked, with the keys in them.
“We have to get away from this idea of leaving keys in our cars is OK, and leaving guns in our cars is OK, and leaving our cars unlocked is OK,” he said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 3:37 AM with the headline "Two juveniles charged with stealing cars in eastern Madison County."