A 10-year-old boy who police say crashed a van into several parked cars remains in juvenile custody.
Police say it happened Sunday shortly before 1 p.m. Investigators say the owner of a 2001 white Ford truck parked his vehicle while unloading furniture from an apartment on the 6200 block of Market Street.
The 10-year-old allegedly removed the keys from a rear door, stole the truck and drove it into five parked cars. No one was hurt during the incident, according to investigators.
Investigators say the incident was captured on a store security camera from Arnett Woodall's Produce. Residents also detained the boy until police arrived.
"I told the man to hold him and to not let him get away," said Arnett Woodall, the owner of the store. "I had customers all over the place. Everyone just converged on him. He just stopped and gave up."
Investigators say the boy has a history with police but was too young to arrest for previous offenses. Woodall claims the boy once passed off fake $20 bills to him and neighboring business owners two years ago when he was 8-years-old.
"He couldn't have masterminded those $20 bills," said Woodall. "They looked real good. They were bleached 5's."
Witnesses tell NBC10 the boy claimed his mother asked him to steal to support a drug addiction. Police say this is not true however.
"Somebody needs to get to the bottom of it," said Woodall. "Find out if this kid is being pressured to do the things that he's doing."
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NBC10 spoke with a woman who says her car was struck by the boy.
"I was kind of taken aback," said Lisa Jones. "I mean, 10-years-old! He's going to need some kind of help. From my understanding it's not the first time he's been in trouble."
Jones says she wants the boy's parents to pay her $500 insurance deductible.
"If it was my kid I would pay it," said Jones. "I would pay it because it's wrong."
The boy is charged with theft and criminal mischief. Police say he is still being held at the Henry Avenue Youth Detention Center. He appeared before a magistrate judge Monday morning.
NBC10 repeatedly tried to find the boy's parents as well as his grandmother who responded to the scene of the accident on Sunday. No one was home however at the boy's apartment on Brockner Road and we were unable to contact them.
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