Juveniles charged in nature center break-in
Two youths, ages 11 and 14, have been charged as juveniles with breaking into the Carrie Murray Nature Center and stealing a dozen animals. A police spokesman confirmed the charges this morning but had no further details.
The boys could have been arrested or charged and left in the custody of their parents pending their court date. Police said the nature center at the edge of Leakin Park was broken into twice, once over the weekend, and then again Monday night or early Tuesday.
Among the animals stolen were gechos, chameleons, turtles, an iguana and a Madagascar hissing cockroach. A tip led police on Tuesday to a house near the center, where they found all the animals unharmed.
Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:47 AM | Permalink
| Comments (12)
Categories: Breaking news, West Baltimore
Categories: Breaking news, West Baltimore
Comments
how do two little boys carry that much stuff?
Posted by: boggled | November 18, 2010 8:38 AM
Well I have to applaud these boys for not setting the animals on fire or torturing them like other Baltimore youths have been know to do to defenseless animals. The animals were unharmed thankfully. They still deserve a punishment, but I was glad they did not kill anything.
Posted by: Gina | November 18, 2010 9:25 AM
..."left in the custody of their 'parents'pending their court dats." I'm sure the "parents" will make them behave. Hilarious.
Posted by: Pat Stewart | November 18, 2010 9:36 AM
Boggled: (a) They made 2 trips; (b) 14 year-old are appraoching man-size.
Posted by: Eve | November 18, 2010 9:54 AM
Maybe their welfare checks were late and they were hungry
Posted by: donato | November 18, 2010 9:56 AM
Pat, juvenile offenders are not treated the same as adult offenders. If they did not commit a crime equivalent to an adult offense, i.e. murder, rape, assault of any kind, or serious drug possession, they are released into the custody of their parents. And for the record, you don't know what lead the two boys to steal from the center. so you're comment about the parents is premature and uneccessary. I'm sure the news of the theft is distrubing to them and they will take the needed measures to keep their kids out of any further trouble. If they don't, they do have to answer the the juvenile judge of their kid's case. Education goes a long way. Perhaps you should educate yourself.
Posted by: kay | November 18, 2010 10:11 AM
Actually Pat Stewart, it is the parents who turned their own kids in.
Posted by: JH | November 18, 2010 11:18 AM
Kay - do you live in Baltimore City? Perhaps its you who needs to educate yourself about crime in this area and the lack of adult supervision.
Posted by: mike | November 18, 2010 11:34 AM
I still feel locking the parents up along with the mini-criminals would get the message across to be better parents.
Posted by: Baysox | November 18, 2010 4:11 PM
I teach at the neighboring public school and I am very disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed. The mentality of many in the neighborhood does not include respect for others or their property. Parents need to get involved and set an example for their children.
Posted by: s.brooke | November 18, 2010 8:14 PM
Weren't they in their parent's "custody" when they committed the crime? They need to be taught a lesson - obviously not by their parents - but by responsible adults - like the court system!
Posted by: Anonymous | November 19, 2010 1:02 PM
It is sad that parents are so unaware of what their children are into. While the children were a bit young, seriously how did they think for one minute that was okay and how did they get into the home without being noticed. I hope the parents will see this as a sign of things to come and do something about it now.
Posted by: Antia L. Gillard | November 19, 2010 2:24 PM