BURBANK : 3 Youths Arrested on Stealing Charges

Three teen-agers were arrested in Burbank after police found more than 30 allegedly stolen hood ornaments in their car, authorities said Monday.

Burbank police pulled over two 17-year-old boys, both from Burbank, and a 16-year-old North Hollywood boy at the intersection of Bethany and Kenneth roads about 10 p.m. Saturday, Sgt. Robert Brode said, because the station wagon they were driving had a dangling license plate.

Officers saw a can of spray paint--which minors may not legally possess--in the car, when they stopped to talk to the youths, so they asked to inspect the vehicle, Brode said. Police then found a torn-off Mercedes hood ornament under a floor mat and another in a glove compartment.

When officers opened a box in the back of the car and found 31 ornaments that had been broken off Mercedes-Benzes, Cadillacs and other luxury cars, they arrested the youths on suspicion of receiving stolen property, police said. The youths were later released to their parents.