A Florida 12-year-old who has already had numerous run-ins with the law is being accused stealing an 89-year-old man’s car.
St. Petersburg police say the boy, who wasn’t named due to being a minor, has already been arrested 20 times in his young life, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Raymond Raftery was pumping gas when the boy pulled up on his bicycle to tell Raftery he had a flat tire.
Police say when Raftery got out of his car to assess the situation, that’s when the pre-teen made his move.
“As I started to pull away he flagged me down and I rolled the window down and said what’s up and he said you got a low tire. I opened the door and I looked at the driver’s side and he said no no, it’s the other side, the passenger side,” he tells 10 News.
“So I went over there, he was on his bike. I get over to the other side and within two seconds he was off the bike, in the car and took off … screeching!”
“He was good,” Raftery said. “I felt kind of dumb afterward, but it was broad daylight, and he was a kid. If it was an adult, I would have been more suspicious, but you never know — you live and you learn.”
The boy was reportedly arrested quickly because police recognized him. They say he was first arrested when he was 9 years old.
When Raftery got his car back, he said it wasn’t in the best condition.
“I think he got into a car accident,” he said. “He probably couldn’t even reach the pedals.”
“I figure someday I’ll open up the paper and see his picture being put in jail for something else,” Raftery says.
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