THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512060420
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
A 13-year-old suspected of stealing two vehicles sat behind the wheel when a state trooper stopped a speeding car on Route 44 early Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Moments later, the teenager and a 15-year-old who was with him were running through yards in a Virginia Beach subdivision after speeding away from the trooper and crashing a 1992 Dodge Spirit into a 1995 Nissan.
The two Norfolk boys, who were not identified because of their youth, were taken into custody when police found them hiding in a backyard shed on Gimbert Drive, not far from the Lynnhaven Parkway exit.
Virginia Beach officers and state troopers descended on the neighborhood after the boys jumped a fence that separates the subdivision from the freeway.
``It was scary,'' said Teresa Hagedorn of the 200 block of Gimbert Drive, who was baby-sitting several children at her home when the police surrounded the area.
Hagedorn said she saw the two boys after they climbed the fence and ran into a neighbor's yard. After about 10 minutes, police found the boys in the shed.
Tammy Van Dame, spokeswoman for the state police, said the incident began about 9 a.m. Tuesday near Blair Middle School in the 700 block of Spotswood Ave. in Norfolk.
She said the boys stole a car and drove to Portsmouth, where they left it near I.C. Norcom High School, in the 3900 block of Turnpike Road. Then they stole a second car - the 1992 Dodge Spirit - from the school parking lot between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Van Dame said.
About 12:20 p.m., the motorcycle trooper saw the Dodge Spirit traveling east along the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway at speeds exceeding 75 miles per hour, Van Dame said. The trooper pulled the vehicle over.
When the officer got off his motorcycle, the car sped off down the freeway to the first Lynnhaven ramp, crashing into the rear of a car at a traffic light. No one was injured in the collision.
The two youths bolted.
After they were taken into custody, the suspects were taken to a Virginia Beach precinct station.
Van Dame said the 13-year-old driver was charged with speeding to elude, possession of burglary tools, and hit and run. Both the driver and the 15-year-old were charged with grand larceny and conspiracy to commit a felony. ILLUSTRATION: Map
KEYWORDS: AUTOMOBILE THEFT JUVENILE CRIMINAL by CNB