ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606120051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI
Roanoke police have arrested five teen-age boys in connection with the thefts of at least 15 Honda Accords and Civics in Southwest Roanoke.
"This is a bunch of kids who took these cars basically for joy riding," said Maj. J.L. Viar of the Police Department's criminal investigations division.
About $5,000 in property was taken from the cars.
The cars were abandoned throughout the city and Roanoke County. Two of them were demolished.
Detectives believe a 16-year-old who recently moved to Roanoke taught the suspects how to steal the cars. The 16-year-old was arrested in February in North Carolina and charged with auto theft. Detectives said he was convicted and now is on probation.
In Roanoke, four 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old were charged with auto theft.
The two most recent arrests occurred June 5 in Southeast Roanoke after an officer saw four youths in a stolen car on Ninth Street Southeast. Three of the boys fled the car and ran into an alley. The driver then crashed into a rock wall and fled. The officer apprehended the 16-year-old driver. Later that night, police charged another 16-year-old.
The three other teens were arrested during the past several months, police said.
In another incident, police said a 21-year-old woman was mugged at knifepoint as she walked along the 3500 block of Hershberger Road Northwest on Monday morning. The woman was not seriously injured.
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