Teens detained in suspected stolen car

Laguna Beach police detained a group of teenagers who were allegedly driving along South Coast Highway in a stolen SUV Sunday night.

Officers pulled over the 2004 GMC Envoy headed north on Coast Highway near the southern city limits at about 10:13 p.m., Laguna Beach police Sgt. Tim Kleiser said.

There were four teenagers inside, according to Kleiser. Police released three of them to their parents with curfew violation citations and booked the fourth on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Three of the teens are 17-years-old and the fourth is 15, police said.

All of them were from the Whitter and La Habra areas, Kleiser said. The car had been reported stolen in Whittier, according to authorities.

Police also detained a second carload of teenagers who appeared to be traveling with the group in the stolen SUV, Kleiser added.

After officers pulled the Envoy over on Coast Highway, a bystander noticed a second car that stayed nearby.

Police said they talked to that car’s occupants and discovered they were affiliated with the group in the SUV.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many kids were in the second car, but Kleiser said one of them had earlier been reported missing.

All members of the second group were detained until they could be released to their parents, according to police.