DOUGLAS — A group of five teenage boys tried to steal a woman’s car on Saturday in Douglas, the latest in a string of robberies in the neighborhood involving young boys.
But this group's age apparently caught up with them — they couldn't figure out how to start the car and had to run off.
Jill Bradley said Monday five boys snatched her keys out of her hands at 5:30 p.m. in the 3600 block of South Martin Luther King Drive and tried to steal her Lincoln.
She said police told her the robbery may be connected to 11 robberies in June by boys, some reportedly as young as 6.
“They’re getting a little smarter that it works better if they’re close to home,” Bradley said.
Police were not able to confirm whether the robbery is indeed connected to the string of robberies last month.
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Bradley said four of the boys piled into her car and tried to start it while the fifth stood watch, but couldn’t figure out the push-button ignition.
She said she was screaming for someone to call the police and a neighbor ran inside to call the cops, which scared the boys into running, but not before they dumped Bradley’s purse out in the car and made off with $120 and her cellphone.
She said she thinks all of the boys were in their early teens. She said none of them showed or threatened her with a weapon or attempted to hurt her.
“I’m 5 feet tall and none of them was taller than me,” Bradley said.
She said when the boys ran, she followed them in her car through several alleys in Douglas to an apartment building on the 3500 block of Giles Avenue.
“Their mistake was staying together,” Bradley said. “I was able to chase them to exactly the address they were running to.”
She said she was able to use the tracking on her phone to determine the boys dumped her phone somewhere near Matthew House, a supportive service center for homeless men at 3722 S. Indiana Ave.
Bradley said the people at Matthew House were very helpful, though she hasn’t found her phone yet, and the boys’ neighbors and landlord have all been cooperative in helping track down security camera footage.
Police were not immediately able to say whether there had been any arrests in Bradley’s incident or whether detectives had made any arrests for the string of robberies in June.
