Utica Teen Accused of Stealing Neighbor's Laptop, Tablet and Cash from Vehicle

A 16-year-old Utica boy accused of breaking into his neighbor's vehicle and stealing more than $2,000 worth of property was arresetd Monday.

The boy, whose name will not be released because he's a minor, was charged with larceny from a vehicle.

Police were called to the townhomes Sunday morning after a woman woke up to find her Ford Edge had been ransacked and her ACER laptop, Samsung tablet, backpack, containing text books, cash from her wallet and credit cards were missing.

Later that day, a neighbor told police he witnessed a boy, wearing a black backpack, walking away from a Ford Edge parked at the townhomes on Kensington Street around 4:15 a.m. Sunday and into townhomes on the same street.

When police went to the home they found the boy's mother, who said she heard her son enter the home around 4:30 a.m. According to a police report, the boy's mother gave police permission to search the home. Inside, police found the laptop and several other stolen items. The backpack with text books were later recovered in the woods nearby.

The boy was arrested the following day at his home.

His mother told police he had been "nothing but trouble" according to the police report and already had a juveineile court apperance on another charge scheduled for Monday.

The police report states that the boy told police his problems stemmed from "when she started bringing home strange men."