A male juvenile will face arraignment this week in connection with burglaries at two area businesses and the theft of two automobiles over the weekend.

Thursday, June 22, 2000

A male juvenile will face arraignment this week in connection with burglaries at two area businesses and the theft of two automobiles over the weekend.

Ironton Police Department officers have taken a 17-year-old Ironton teen into custody for his part in the breaking and entering at Car Stereo Wholesale Shop and Granny’s Variety Store – both in Ironton.

He is currently being housed at the Dennis Boll Group and Shelter Home.

Ironton police dispatchers received the call at 3:23 a.m. Monday that two individuals were breaking glass in the front door of Granny’s Variety Store. Officers arriving at the scene found that a second boy, age 12, also from Ironton, was standing outside the store.

The 17-year-old was found inside the store, Ironton police Detective Captain Chris Bowman said.

When the officers investigated the scene, they also discovered that the juveniles were driving a stolen car.

"After we took the minors into custody, we found that they had been driving a 1991 Chevrolet Beretta that had been reported stolen in the Ohio 243 area earlier in the night and they had it parked just outside the store," Bowman said. "Once we began the investigation, we found some new stereo equipment in the car as well, which had been reported missing on Sunday afternoon."

Investigators discovered that the minors had taken an estimated $2,600 in merchandise from the Car Stereo Wholesale Store.

"They’d broken into the store the night before," Bowman said. "Owners reported several items missing and that the suspects had knocked out a window to enter. Investigations also found that the minors had stolen a 1989 Ford Taurus belonging to Michael Harmon and had been reported missing from the 243 area on Saturday. They also had in their possession a license plate that had been stolen from Jackson County."

Officials later recovered the Taurus in the parking lot of Pick ‘N Save on Monday.

Bowman said the 17-year-old was arrested at the scene of the Granny’s break-in. He is being charged with two counts of grand auto theft, two counts of breaking and entering and one count of receiving stolen property. The 12-year-old faces one count of complicity to breaking and entering.

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and the Coal Grove Police Department assisted in the investigation of the two juveniles.

And Bowman doesn’t expect summer crimes by youths to end here, either.

The summer season always sparks a higher crime rate, he said.

"We always have more vandalism cases, cruise-line problems and thefts during the summer months because more kids are on the streets and not in school," Bowman said. "We try to enforce the curfew violations more and working the cruise line always seems to deter the crime a bit."

The curfew hours for children under the age of 13 is 9 p.m. until dawn and midnight until dawn for teens between the ages of 14 and 18.