Ten teenagers were detained on Sunday, Oct. 12, after the Cleveland Division of Police conducted a coordinated investigation into a series of vehicle break-ins and thefts that occurred across multiple districts in the city. The charges were made when police responded to a report of 24 vehicles being broken into at the Hilton Garden Inn on Carnegie Avenue. Additional break-ins were discovered between East 14th Street and Euclid Avenue, as well as East 120th Street and Mayfield Road.
“It is both deeply troubling and unacceptable to see teenagers engaging in such audacious and disruptive criminal behavior,” said Chief Todd in a statement issued Monday. “What the public can take confidence in is this: arrests have been made, and those responsible will face the full weight of the justice system.”
The investigation, which was launched by Third District detectives and assisted by Second District intelligence, revealed that the suspects were carrying out the crimes in at least two stolen automobiles. By early afternoon, detectives had traced the stolen automobiles across Cleveland using the Real Time Crime Center and FLOCK license plate readers.
One vehicle was tracked to the 2100 block of Columbus Road, where the suspects stole a third vehicle. They abandoned one car and then entered a fourth stolen vehicle. Police described the suspects’ behavior as reckless and endangering the public, law enforcement, and themselves.
The perpetrators were eventually captured in a vacant apartment building in the 2600 block of Loop Avenue, with help from the Cleveland Police Aviation Unit, K-9 Units, all five police districts, and the Narcotics Unit. Officers discovered three weapons stashed within the structure, which the suspects had used to flee police while conducting felonies such as car theft and property damage.
The arrested people include:
- A 12-year-old male from Cleveland
- A 14-year-old female from Cleveland
- Two 14-year-old males from Cleveland
- A 15-year-old male from Cleveland
- A 15-year-old female from Richmond Heights
- A 16-year-old male from Cleveland
- A 16-year-old female from Cleveland
- A 17-year-old male from Maple Heights
- An 18-year-old female from Akron
Potential charges include breaking and entering, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, grand theft of motor vehicles, and possessing weapons when disabled. Six of the nine teenagers were placed in juvenile detention and are awaiting formal charges. The adult female was booked into the county jail.
The precise number of vehicles involved in the crime spree has yet to be established, as police continue to identify new victims.
Chief Todd praised the collaborative effort of the departments involved. “I want to commend the outstanding work of our detectives and officers. When faced with crimes of this magnitude, it is the men and women of the Cleveland Division of Police who step up; swiftly, decisively, and with unwavering professionalism.”
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