3 Teens Charged In Separate Vehicle Theft Incidents In Southington: Police

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Three teenagers, two from Hartford and one from Hamden, have been charged with stealing vehicles in two separate incidents in recent days in Southington.

According to the Southington Police Department, the three juveniles were taken into custody, and their names were not released because of their age.

SHS football game arrest

The Hamden teen was located in the Southington High School parking lot on Friday during a football game.

The 16-year-old Hamden resident was taken into custody without issue in the SHS school parking lot.

The juvenile was processed and was scheduled to appear in New Haven Juvenile Court on Monday, Nov. 17, and was released to a legal guardian.

On Monday, Nov. 17, the SPD released details of the incident, which took place Friday night, Nov. 14.

According to police, at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, members of the SPD detective division and special investigation unit were working with patrol officers when a "vehicle of interest was located parked in the Southington High School parking lot."

"The lot was fairly congested at the time as there was an active high school football game occurring," wrote the SPD.

Officers detained several individuals in the immediate vicinity of the suspect vehicle as the investigation commenced, police said.

The vehicle in question was determined by investigators to be a black 2024 BMW X6, stolen out of Orange in late October.

One of the individuals detained, the Hamden teen, was found to be in possession of and concealing the vehicle’s ignition key fob, the SPD said.

Residential driveways targeted

Then, on Monday morning, Nov. 17, two Hartford teens were taken into custody after police said they were seen trying to enter parked vehicles in residential driveways.

One juvenile, a 15-year-old from Hartford, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle, second-degree larceny, first-degree criminal trover, conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary, interfering with a police officer, reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and failure to have headlamps lit.

A second juvenile, identified as a 17-year-old from Hartford, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle, second-degree larceny, first-degree criminal trover, third-degree burglary, and interfering with a police officer.

The SPD released details of that incident on Monday afternoon.

According to the SPD, on Monday, Nov. 17, at about 3:41 a.m., several calls were received from residents in the area of Flanders Road for individuals attempting to enter parked vehicles in residential driveways.

"Officers flooded the area and observed two suspicious vehicles that appeared to be traveling in tandem," wrote the SPD. "One of the vehicles, a silver Hyundai Sonata, had no registration plates affixed to either the front or rear of the vehicle."

Police said the operator was wearing a black ski mask at the time, and he deactivated the vehicle’s lights and began to drive recklessly in an apparent effort to elude officers.

The SPD said police deployed pursuit prevention devices on one of the vehicles before it fled,
ultimately rendering the vehicle inoperable.

That vehicle was located parked and unoccupied a short distance away in a nearby neighborhood, police said.

According to police, officers noted damage to the ignition/steering column.

"After confirming with the vehicle’s owner, the vehicle was determined to be a stolen motor vehicle out of Hartford," wrote the SPD.

The SPD said a perimeter was established in the immediate area and a police K-9 search was conducted to locate the vehicle’s occupants.

"Eventually, a ride-share service vehicle was stopped in the vicinity, and two juvenile passengers were detained attempting to leave the area," wrote police.

The SPD said clothing worn by the juvenile passengers was corroborated through a victim’s home security footage, which captured the aforementioned vehicle burglary activity.

Both juveniles were transported to Southington police headquarters, where they were charged accordingly.

They were scheduled to appear at Hartford Juvenile Court on Nov. 18 and were released to legal guardians.

"Investigation into this matter is ongoing with respect to additional victims who reported their vehicles entered and property stolen later in the morning, and with regard to the second involved suspicious motor vehicle," wrote police.