DATE: Thursday, August 14, 1997             TAG: 9708140444

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   27 lines

GUM BALLS BLOW TEENS' GETAWAY POLICE FOLLOW BRIGHTLY COLORED PATH TO HOME IN SUFFOLK

Hansel had his crumbs, Dorothy had her yellow brick road - and Suffolk police had a trail of brightly colored bubble gum balls.

The gumshoes followed the scattered spheres - believed to have spilled from boxes stolen when a storage unit was broken into early Tuesday - several blocks to the home of a teen-ager.

There they found two boxes of gum, minus several balls, said detective V.C. Pisani.

Burglary, vandalism and larceny charges are pending against the teen and another boy who was apprehended, and others may be charged, police said. The names of the boys, both 16, were not released because of their ages.

The stash allegedly was stolen from a unit rented by a bubble gum machine supplier at Suffolk Mini-Storage Co. in the 300 block of Newport St.

A total of 30 units were broken into, nine of them vacant. Stolen items also included more traditional fare: a bicycle, a television, a boom box and several cameras.

Police are still chewing on the case. They're trying to contact all the property owners to make an inventory of missing items.

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