EAST GREENBUSH — A Sunday night traffic stop was remarkable for a number of reasons, but two are perhaps most stunning: The driver was in fifth grade and it's his second arrest in the last month. Police said the 11-year-old boy stole a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, a 15-foot-long, 2-ton boat of a sedan, from the intersection of Ontario Street and Madison Avenue in Albany. He drove for nearly 10 miles before he was pulled over by East Greenbush police just past the intersection of routes 4 and 151. Officers said the boy likely got over the Hudson River by way of Interstate 90 and the Patroon Island Bridge. When police began pursuing the car and signaling for the driver to pull over, the boy slumped deep into his seat, disappearing from view. Officers didn't know a child was driving and — fearing they were flagging down a driver who may have been reaching for a weapon — called for backup. A handful of police cruisers had surrounded the car by the time the unarmed boy stopped. "They were acting with extreme caution," East Greenbush Police Chief Christopher Lavin said. "They had no idea a kid was driving. They couldn't see the driver and had no idea what was going on." Sunday's incident was the boy's second felony arrest in 15 days. The fifth-grader, a wiry 5-foot-4, 120-pound child who police say looks older than 11, was arrested on Jan. 28 for allegedly breaking into a frame shop in Center Square and nearby parked cars. "It's not like he's 16, or 15, or even 14," Lavin said. "And he would seem to be going from bad to worse." In both cases, police said the boy acted more like a seasoned criminal than a child more than three years away from his first day of high school. The boy allegedly committed the January burglaries after taking two weeks to gradually warm to the owner of Alacrity Frame Workshop at 215 Lark St. The store's owner, Brian Shea, said the child was kind and unassuming. One day, the boy quietly unlocked all the store's windows over a few hours, Shea said. After waiting until closing and leaving with Shea, the boy came back to the store minutes later, jimmied his way through a window and stole $240 from the cash register. Shea gave police a picture of the boy. A Center Square beat officer spotted the child breaking into vehicles a few days later and took him into custody, but not without marveling at the boy's technique. "He was amazed; like he was watching a 20-year-old," said Officer James Miller, an Albany police spokesman. "The way the kid would look out for police, the way he was quickly checking the door handles. Like he had done it 100 times before." Swarmed by the flashing lights of police cruisers Sunday night, the boy had a story ready for officers. The boy said he was 15, according to court documents. He admitted to stealing the car from in front of Paesan's Pizza on Madison Avenue, but asked police why they didn't pull over his friend, who he said had stolen a blue Mercedes from the same part of Albany at the same time. Police said that story was false and the boy likely was trying to divert attention from himself. "He's certainly a brazen child," Miller said. The boy got into the car via an unlocked door, and the keys were in the cup holder, Lavin said. Before the child took the sedan, he had been going from car to car, stealing from other open vehicles, Lavin said. Officers said they found wallets, purses and cellphones on the front passenger seat when the boy was pulled over. The car, phones and wallets — with the cash still inside — were returned to their owners, police said. East Greenbush police started the pursuit just after the car came to a stop light at the intersection of routes 4 and 151. The boy was at the front of the stopped traffic; a sergeant was a few cars behind him. The driver accelerated hard when the light turned green, peeling off and sending smoke off his tires and into the sky. The boy, still slouched in his seat, pulled over less than a mile later. The car was undamaged. He was taken into custody without a struggle and his mother picked him up a few hours later. "While he was in custody, he was a very good boy," Lavin said. "When his mother came, he did what she said." Both of the boy's cases will be handled in juvenile court. Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Cops-Small-driver-causes-big-trouble-3322141.php#ixzz1mRvY5bfn
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