Police arrest boys for 52 property crimes Police arrest boys for 52 property crimes (December 15, 2004)

Menlo Park police say they cracked a burglary and theft ring operating in the Belle Haven neighborhood last week when they arrested four boys, ages 11 to 13, who live in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.

The boys -- who confessed and were taken to the Hillcrest juvenile hall in San Mateo on Tuesday, December 7 -- were charged with 52 separate property crimes, including theft of stereo equipment, gardening tools and loose change, said Sgt. Matt Bacon.

The boys said they picked targets by walking through a neighborhood -- usually after school or on a weekend -- looking for unlocked cars, locked cars worth breaking into, and occasionally houses that might be entered unnoticed, Sgt. Bacon said.

The booty was either given away, kept or sold for walking-around money, Sgt. Bacon said. Police did not provide a total value of the stolen items.

The boys were not remorseful, he said.

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