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South Euclid Walmart bike thefts involved two 9-year-olds

Cuyahoga Co. juvenile crimes becoming more brazen
Posted at 10:31 PM, Sep 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-22 22:31:15-04

South Euclid Police report two 9-year-olds, and an 11-year old took an RTA bus to their city, and then tried to steal three bikes from the Warrensville Center Road Walmart.

South Euclid Officer Joe Di Lillo told News 5 the case indicates juvenile criminals are becoming more brazen in their approach.

Di Lillo said it's up to parents to keep close watch on their children and consistently give them the right messages.

"It does start at home, you want to teach your kids right from wrong," said Di Lillo

"Tell them that for every action, there's a reaction. Stealing something like this can have an impact on their life right away, and have even more impact on their life moving forward."

Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center Probation Services Director Van Ward told News 5 juvenile cases went from about 5,900 in 2015 to about 7,600 in 2016.

Ward said juvenile offenders are becoming more violent and more bold.

"We're seeing a lot more assaults, burglaries, robberies," said Ward.

"We are seeing more aggressive type of behaviors in these crimes.  Of course you can see on social media, a lot more guns are being involved."

Ward said the the Cuyahoga juvenile court is fighting back with a wide variety of parent support groups, and in-house family counseling and therapy, in an effort to reduce the number of repeat juvenile offenders.

"Parents can come in and talk about some of the issues they may be having with their kids, and they also hear from other parents who are having some of those similar problems," said Ward.

Meanwhile, police said the three juveniles involved the bike theft case have been returned to their parents.