Scout, 16, Suspected in Police Thefts

Many youths get into law enforcement through the police Explorer Scouts, but a 16-year-old Palmdale Scout got involved the wrong way, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.

After two years of volunteer service, he was arrested on suspicion of stealing guns from deputies at the department’s Antelope Valley Station, Sgt. Bobby Denham said.

Handguns, ammunition and other equipment had been disappearing from the sheriff’s station over the past three months, he said. Personal lockers and cars had been broken into.

On Wednesday a deputy found a handgun missing from his car trunk and the Scout was the only other person in the parking lot at the time, Denham said. The youth permitted deputies to search the car he was driving and they found six missing handguns. Upon questioning, he admitted to stealing two other guns, which he said he gave away, Denham said.

He was released to await juvenile court action.

The youth, who had attended a 20-week law enforcement academy, helped deputies in fingerprinting suspects, registering bicycles and providing security at parades and other public functions. He seemed on a fast track to a law enforcement career, but he had shortcomings as a criminal mind, Denham said.

“If you’re going to rip people off, it’s kind of risky to try a police station,” he said.