By Patric Hedlund

A ring of six sneak thieves whose mornings are spent in junior high and high school, but whose afternoons were spent creeping along mountain trails and through dry washes to break into Frazier Park and Lebec homes through rear entrances— often by smashing windows to gain entry—was smashed itself on Tuesday, May 1.

"It was good, old-fashioned police work," Kern County Sheriff’s Sergeant Dave Barker said, explaining how the group of 12- to 15-year-olds was rounded up, searched and arrested. They have been linked to nine burglaries so far.

The youths’ unique afterschool activity targeted victims who were off the mountain, hard at work. "Most the thefts took place between 4:00 and 7:30 p.m., while homeowners were still commuting," Barker explained. The burglars were apprehended when two broke into a home on Grant Trail about 4:30 p.m. "The man was home when the juvenile walked in while the resident was present," Lead Deputy Vincent Martinez said. The resident called police and gave chase. Officers apprehended one of the youth and then found the other hiding at his home.

The items taken in the thefts ranged from stereo equipment, video games, coin collections and jewelry to ceramic figurines—but cash was the primary target, according to Martinez. A small quantity of methamphetamine was found in a search of one of the teen’s belongings, but officers said it appeared to be for use, not for sale. "It seemed like most of the money was spent on clothing, video games, kid stuff," Martinez said. "We have had frequent contact with most of these kids, all of those involved with exception of one had probationary status." Through the investigation, members of the group were linked to nine burglaries.

Some of the stolen belongings have been returned to their owners, some are packed and tagged to go into Kern County Sheriff Department’s evidence locker. All recovered goods have been photographed for evidence files. Martinez said some of the homes had been "ransacked," and others had been barely disturbed.

"We had a good idea of who was involved in the burglaries, but we needed to develop the evidence," Martinez said. "That is why we need a good neighborhood watch program."

He emphasized that deputies patrolling surface streets cannot see activities at the back of homes which are built next to the mountains. "Logistically, Frazier Park is laid out in a way that isn’t conducive to us finding them [thieves] unless the community is helping us out…neighbors have better view of the back area adjacent to mountain trails."

Curfew To Be Enforced

Barker added that Kern County’s existing 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew for minors is now being enforced in the Mountain Communities because of "nighttime vandalism," including rocks being thrown through windows at night. "We don’t know if these specific kids are involved in that," Martinez said.

School officials indicated that several of the youth were back in school by Friday, the day after the arrests.

Reports have been filed to convey the matter to the Kern County District Attorney’s office. If the minor is on formal probation status and the DA chooses not to file a new law violation, the minor’s supervising probation officer may elect to file a petition alleging a Violation of Probation and recommend imposition of an appropriate sanction, juvenile justice sources explained.

This is part of the May 11, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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