Glendale Police announce organized theft ring arrests during news conference | Crime Files

Teens accused of roles in AZ organized theft ring

Police in Glendale accuse the teens of committing nearly four dozen burglaries between June and August. They say the teens, who range in age from 14 to 16, targeted homes during the overnight hours, breaking into them and stealing items as families were asleep. Some were also armed.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Officials with the Glendale Police Department held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce a number of arrests that are linked to what they called an organized theft ring.

The arrests were announced during a news conference on Aug. 21. Here's what we know.

Who are the suspects?

Glendale Police identified the suspects as:

A 14-year-old girl
A 15-year-old boy
A 15-year-old boy
A 15-year-old girl
A 16-year-old boy

Police did not release the suspects' respective identifies due to their age. However, court documents for four of the teens, as released by Glendale Police, reveal they all have prior arrests and convictions for theft of means of transportation, and at least three of them were on probation at the time of the alleged crimes.

What happened?

Glendale Police announce theft ring arrests

Glendale Police officials announced the arrest of a number of people in connection with what investigators called an organized theft ring. The announcement was made during a news conference on Aug. 21.

During the news conference, Officer Moroni Mendez with Glendale Police said the department knew of "multiple thefts, multiple burglaries committed by a group of teenagers."

"It happened between June of this year, all the way up until August," said Officer Mendez. "Approximately 46 cases are known between Glendale and Phoenix Police Departments."

On the department's Facebook page, officials allege the suspects used stolen garage door openers to enter homes while people inside were asleep. In at least one of the incidents, the teens were captured on surveillance video.

"Usually, we either just go front door hopping, try to see whose doors were unlocked, or we obtain garage openers," said one of the suspects in the case, in a portion of an interrogation video that was posted by Glendale Police on their Facebook page. The suspect's face was blurred out in the video. "Most people have it in their car. On their sunroof visor."

In the video, when investigators asked one of the suspects what would happen if a car's door was locked, the suspect replied "break the window."

Other surveillance video released by Glendale Police show the suspects wandering inside the home.

"The teens would wander the home for items to steal while the homeowner was asleep," read an on-video caption.

Eventually, police say multiple search warrants were served, and one of the suspects was arrested as they were returning home during the serving of a search warrant.

What are the suspects accused of?

Court documents for four of the suspects show they are each accused of a variety of criminal offenses, including:

Unlawful use of means of transportation (A.R.S. 13-1803A2)
Theft of means of transportation (A.R.S. 13-1814A5)
Burglary (A.R.S. 13-1507A)
Misconduct involving weapons (A.R.S. 13-3102A4)
Minor in possession of firearm (A.R.S. 13-3111A)
Possession or use of a narcotic drug (A.R.S. 13-3408A1)

"One of the individuals did say he was armed each and every time," said Jose Santiago with Glendale Police. "These are very brazen acts done by teenagers."

Police in Glendale also say it is possible the teens are tied to other crimes in the Phoenix area.