What ever happened to just playing outside?
A group of “little rascals” bank robbers — one as young as 11 — have been arrested after their parents turned them in.
The trio of minors were accused of robbing a Wells Fargo in Houston, Texas, on March 14, and witnesses initially believed the suspects were 14 to 18 years old. Rel.easing images from surveillance footage on Twitter, the Houston bureau of the FBI gave them the clever nickname and asked the public for help in identifying them.
After recognizing their kids, two of the suspects’ parents turned their children into police who took the minors into custody.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office declined confirmation on circumstances surrounding the arrests, but the FBI field office said, “they are 11, 12, and 16-year-old boys charged locally with robbery by threat” — a second-degree felony.
According to ABC 13, the boys passed a threatening note to a teller and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. They were suspected of being armed but didn’t present a weapon. However, the sheriff’s office said authorities recovered a weapon and a distinctive item pictured in one photo.
Due to them being minors, authorities said names and additional details will not be released.
Retired juvenile district court judge Mike Schneider was surprised by the age of the younger two, calling it “unusual for a bank robbery.” “It’s one of the first times I’ve seen that,” he said. But he is not putting all the blame on the juveniles — thinking an adult is the mastermind behind the crime. “I was thinking either this was very low in sophistication or maybe an adult had something to do with this. That is not uncommon,” the judge said.
“Because kids have a punishment that is less severe, it is not uncommon for adult offenders to get them to commit crimes.”
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Source: Black Enterprise