PALM BEACH– Three teens were arrested last weekend after they allegedly used a stolen vehicle to commit several more car burglaries.
Mitchell
Police arrested Trabonte Mitchell, 19, of Riviera Beach and two juveniles Sunday on charges that include grand theft auto, loitering and prowling and reckless driving.
A 14-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy were Mitchell’s alleged accomplices, police said. They were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center in suburban West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach Post generally does not identify juveniles who have been arrested unless they are charged as adults.
Mitchell remained in custody Wednesday night in lieu of $20,000 bail.
According to a police arrest report, the town’s license plate recognition system detected a stolen Chrysler traveling east over the Royal Park Bridge shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday. An officer spotted the vehicle at the intersection of Cocoanut Road and Peruvian Avenue.
Officers attempted to stop the car as it made its way to the intersection of Peruvian and South County Road. The car’s driver sped away. The car continued to the Palm Beach Towers before its occupants got out and fled on foot, police said.
Police set up a perimeter and caught the 14-year-old after he climbed bushes and jumped over a fence.
Mitchell and the 17-year-old were seen running toward the Breakers Hotel golf course, police said. They eventually were caught near the hotel’s restaurant.
The youngest teen reportedly told officers he ran when Mitchell told him the car was stolen. He spontaneously uttered that he previously was accused of grand theft auto and had just recently been released from the juvenile detention facility.
The 17-year-old allegedly told officers the group went to Palm Beach because Mitchell wanted to steal a Jaguar. They reportedly went to the parking garage of an apartment building and broke into several cars. They stole various items and tried to steal a black Audi, but the car would not start, police said.
Mitchell confessed to driving the stolen Chrysler and told officers that he had been smoking marijuana earlier in the day, the report said.
