12-Year-Old Boy Faces Charges for Forklift Theft and Police Chase in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, MI – A 12-year-old boy is now facing charges as a juvenile after stealing a forklift and leading police on a 13-mile chase across Ann Arbor in November, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department.

The 12-year-old boy has been authorized with juvenile petitions for unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, fleeing a police officer, and resisting and obstructing a police officer. Chris Page, spokesperson for the Ann Arbor Police Department, confirmed the charges.

The boy was released to his guardians on November 28, as confirmed by Page’s email to MLive/The Ann Arbor News on Thursday, January 4. The next steps in the case are yet to be clarified by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office.

For privacy reasons, MLive/The Ann Arbor News does not typically disclose the names of minors, unless they are charged as adults.

The incident unfolded when officers received a report of a stolen construction vehicle, a forklift, from Forsythe Middle School located at 1564 Newport Road in Ann Arbor, shortly before 7 p.m. on November 25.

Within minutes, police spotted the stolen forklift being driven south on Brooks Street near Pearl Street. They initiated a pursuit with emergency lights and sirens, with speeds ranging from 15 to 20 mph, as stated by the police.

The stolen vehicle was identified as a Construction Genie GTH-636 Telehandler, a forklift capable of weighing up to 35,000 pounds. It was later discovered that the vehicle had been left unlocked with the key hidden inside the cab.

Read more: 12-year-old arrested after leading police on chase in forklift

During the pursuit, the 12-year-old boy drove the stolen forklift through the Georgetown Boulevard Neighborhood, damaging approximately 10 parked cars, according to the police.

The Ann Arbor police officers terminated the pursuit around 7:20 p.m. when the boy drove north on Nixon Road across the M-14 Bridge. The pursuit was then taken over by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

The 12-year-old eventually stopped the stolen vehicle near M-14 and Gotfredson Road shortly before 8 p.m., where he was apprehended by the authorities. He was subsequently lodged at the juvenile detention center.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the pursuit, as confirmed by the police.

“This was a very dangerous situation that could’ve easily resulted in serious injuries,” stated the police in a social media release at the time.

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