A 14-year-old was arrested and charged Monday after a series of car thefts in Oakland, police said.
The thefts began in December when a pickup truck was stolen out of a parking lot of an unidentified business in Oakland. A second pickup truck, from the same Oakland business, and a sedan were stolen last week.
Two of the vehicles were involved in single-vehicle crashes in Augusta and Smithfield, with the driver fleeing the scene before first responders arrived both times. The driver ran off the road and struck trees in both instances, but no one was injured in either crash. A third vehicle was recovered in Fairfield.
During the time period of the vehicle thefts, a semi-automatic handgun was stolen out of a vehicle in Oakland.
Augusta police were able to locate a suspect and worked with detectives and a juvenile corrections officer to tie all three vehicle thefts together, according to a Facebook post made by Oakland Police. The post also stated that detectives recovered the stolen handgun Monday.
The 14-year-old suspect was charged with three misdemeanor counts of vehicle theft, a felony count of theft of a handgun and multiple driving offenses. The suspect is also being charged in relation to the vehicle crashes in Augusta and Smithfield.
Police were unable to disclose whether the juvenile is being held at a detention center but the investigation is ongoing and more suspects may be charged, according to the Facebook post.
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