The Region : Mothers Lose Custody of Boy Burglars

Two 9-year-old Sepulveda boys arrested in a series of residential burglaries after one boy got stuck in a chimney will not be returned to the custody of their mothers, but the Los Angeles County Probation Department will consider allowing the boys to live with their grandmothers, a juvenile court commissioner decided. After separate hearings, Sylmar Juvenile Court Commissioner Jack Gold ordered the Probation Department to place the boys with their grandmothers if an investigation deems the grandmothers fit. Otherwise, the boys should be placed in separate foster homes, Gold said. “They obviously had no supervision whatsoever,” Gold said. The boys, friends and fourth-grade classmates at Plummer Elementary School, allegedly stole cash, clothing and other items in a series of residential burglaries between Dec. 19 and Jan. 14.