A 15-year-old boy faces a string of charges after allegedly stealing two cars with children inside them in Kalgoorlie this week.
The boy allegedly took a white Kia Sorento station sedan from a home on Great Eastern Highway in West Kalgoorlie about 3.50pm on Wednesday.
A woman rushes to her car after it is allegedly stolen by a 15-year-old boy in Kalgoorlie while her son is inside.Credit: WA Police
Kalgoorlie Police Detective Inspector Adrian Vuleta said two toddlers were in the back seat of the car at the time, but were abandoned on the side of the road a few streets away.
The car crashed into a fence and the boy allegedly took off.
However, only 15 minutes later, about 4.05pm, CCTV allegedly captured the moment the boy jumped into an orange Kia Sportage, also on Great Eastern Highway, and sped off with a child in the back seat as the car’s owner frantically gave chase.
The woman’s daughter told 9News Perth her mother screamed, “Please don’t do anything, my son’s in the car” as she tried to stop the vehicle driving away.
The woman had left her son in the air-conditioned car as she dropped off cans and bottles at a recycling depot. The ordeal left her with injuries to her arms, legs and feet.
The nine-year-old boy in the car jumped out as the teenager turned onto a dirt road.
Detectives released the CCTV footage as they hunted the boy on Thursday, before arresting him later in the day.
On Friday morning, police revealed they had charged the 15-year-old with a list of offences, including deprivation of liberty; deprivation of liberty in circumstances of aggravation; aggravated robbery; stealing a motor vehicle; unlawful damage; driver fail to stop – property damage; driver fail to report an incident in which property was damaged; driver of a vehicle failed to comply with a direction to stop; and no authority to drive.
He was set to face Kalgoorlie Children’s Court on Friday.
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