I-Team: A look at records of kid carjackers

CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team investigated to find out more about a group busted for a carjacking spree, including one suspect just 12 years old.

Over the weekend, Cleveland police arrested an 18-year-old, three 17-year-olds, and the 12-year-old.

We’ve learned they may be connected to even more crime, and at least one kid shouldn’t have been on the streets.

The I-Team pulled court records. They show this group is tied to a series of carjackings last weekend from the Flats, to the west side of the city and even to Brook Park.

We checked the backgrounds of all of the juveniles, and they all have prior records. In fact, the 12-year-old has a prior case for domestic violence.

Police caught the juveniles and the 18-year-old with a stolen car.

Police radio traffic from after 3 a.m. Sunday morning shows an officer saying, “Traffic conditions are nothing. Vehicle’s only travelling about 30 miles an hour. We haven’t activated  our lights yet. You have any other cars in the area?”

Records also show one suspect had been living in Cuyahoga County foster care, so he should not have been on the streets.

Multiple sources have told us investigators are looking for any potential tie between these suspects and the weekend incident with an Amazon driver which ended with a suspected carjacker dead.

In that case, police said a man tried to carjack an Amazon delivery driver at W. 48th and Franklin. The delivery driver is believed to have fired shots. Police say the robber then jumped in the vehicle, drove off and he crashed. Then, he was found dead.

But, so far, no records filed show a connection between that case and the suspects arrested for the carjacking spree.

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