Sleep Talker Blows the Candy Caper

A 12-year-old boy who talked in his sleep led police to arrest him and four buddies for allegedly stealing $200 worth of candy bars, soft drinks and cigars, authorities said Wednesday.

The boy was confronted by his parents after they heard him babbling Sunday night about crawling into a San Clemente warehouse and feasting on sweets, police said.

“He told them, ‘Yeah, we did it,’ ” Lt. Al Ehlow said. “They were eating candy bars, smoking cigars and getting green.”

The boy’s parents took him and the contraband--cardboard boxes of Mars bars, Snickers, Coke, Dr. Pepper and cigars they found under his bed--back to the South Coast Distributing Co. warehouse in San Clemente.

Company officials called police, who persuaded the boy to name his four friends, ages 12 to 16, Ehlow said.

The five boys, all of San Clemente, were booked on suspicion of burglary and released to their parents. The boys were not identified because of their ages.