Boy, 10, and Sister Living Alone Arrested in Pickpocketing Ring

Police suspect that a 10-year-old boy and his teen-age sister, who have been living alone in a rented room in Los Angeles, were part of a pickpocketing ring operating in the garment district.

“It’s safe to assume that at 10 and 16 years old someone taught them their trade,” Officer Marvin Brent said about the arrest of the pair after they were videotaped Friday by a security camera as they allegedly lifted a wallet.

Police have been unable to find the $1,500 that the woman, a buyer for a Nevada clothing store, said she was carrying in the wallet.

The boy and his sister, whose names were not released because of their ages, told police their parents live in Honduras. Both youngsters have refused to supply any details, such as how they got to the United States or who they know here, Brent said.

“Both of them were very tough,” he said. “The little boy is the toughest of the two. He’s very hard-nosed and stone-faced.”

His sister, Brent said, broke down only once, when she was told her brother might be deported.

Judging by the receipts found in the youngsters’ $150-a-month room, Brent said, they have been sending money home to a Honduran address that the boy said belongs to his parents.

The youngsters lived a few miles from the garment district in a room they rented from a family. The family is not related to the youngsters and is cooperating in the investigation, Brent said.

The girl is being held in Juvenile Hall. The boy is in the custody of Child Services.