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Teens caught on camera stealing truck before leading police on cross-parish chase
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PLAQUEMINE - Three juveniles were captured on surveillance video at a Plaquemine gas station the moment they stole a truck and high-tailed it to Baton Rouge over the weekend.
It happened Sunday evening. When everything was over, multiple agencies had to get involved to end the chase. The teens ditched the vehicle on South Harrell's Ferry Road and were caught a short time later. Detectives said two of the teens were 16 and another was 17. One of them had four prior arrests and was carrying a stolen weapon that had been used in a crime in Baton Rouge previously.
Watch the full report live on WBRZ at 6:00
"It's very concerning," Major Ronald Hebert with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office said. "They have no fear. They don't fear the police. When I was coming up, I was looking in the mirror and was scared. These kids aren't scared of us anymore."
Over the course of the past few months, the WBRZ Investigative Unit has been profiling the uptick in juvenile offenders. Some are charged with crimes of violence, and others appear to navigate their way through the system and get released on ankle monitors.
In parishes where there are no juvenile detention facilities available, law enforcement is having to expend resources to transfer those juveniles to facilities out of state that are willing to accept them. Recently, Alabama has the closest facility that will take juveniles charged with a violent crime from Louisiana. It costs Louisiana taxpayers nearly $300 per day to house them.
The problems facing our community has many calling for law enforcement, lawmakers and others to take action.
"They know the system is really messed up right now," Hebert said. "They don't fear us anymore. They know there's no place to put them."
The teens must face juvenile charges in Baton Rouge then charges in Iberville Parish. They'll be booked with felony theft for stealing a vehicle, weapon and phone. All three are from Baton Rouge.
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