CINCINNATI — A 16-year-old driving a stolen car through Hamilton County on June 22, 2023, tried to outrun a police pursuit, but he crashed the vehicle into the back of a Glendale police car, according to police records.
The teen pulled around the police car, then ditched his ride and took off on foot, jumping fences as the Glendale officer — with his body-worn camera recording the chase — finally caught him.
"Get on the ground now," the officer yelled at the boy, who got on his knees and extended his arms above his head as far as he could reach.
When it happened, the boy was under house arrest for other criminal charges, including sex offenses against a younger child, according to Hamilton County Juvenile Court records.
After the arrest, he was admitted to the Hamilton County Youth Center.
Two weeks later, court records show he was released to his mother.
A larger issue
According to local police department reports, thousands of vehicles were stolen last year in the Tri-State.
Police records show the thieves were as young as 13.
"It's very trendy," Major Tony Orue told the I-Team.
Orue oversees investigations and intelligence for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
He said after juvenile car thieves are arrested, they're generally released to their parents or guardians — even if they have other criminal charges.
"Typically speaking, the juvenile detention center is full of violent offenders," Orue said. "So the likelihood of them being held as incarcerated for a property crime like receiving stolen property is low."
The I-Team wanted to know what happens to juvenile car thieves in Hamilton County, where most vehicles have been stolen in the Tri-State area.
We requested and received hundreds of Juvenile Court records related to stolen vehicles.
The records show during the last two years more than 600 auto theft-related charges have been filed against juveniles in Hamilton County.
Data provided by juvenile court officials show out of the cases that have been resolved, nearly half of the charges were dismissed. In most of those cases, it was because victims didn't want to prosecute.
"We really don't have a crime without a victim," Orue said. "So if a person gets their car back oftentimes they're satisfied."
Hamilton County Juvenile Court Administrator Liz Igoe said judges and magistrates are required to do what's in the best interest of the child defendant and balance that with public safety.
"When we are not detaining kids, it's because the information we have at the time, we believe, this is a child that can safely be released to the community," Igoe said.
Igoe said the court couldn't discuss specific cases, including one in her courtroom when she was a juvenile court magistrate.
In 2021, four juveniles were in a stolen car in Boone County. The vehicle hit and injured a county deputy trying to put down tire deflation strips to stop it.
One of the boys, 17-year-old Michael Quarles, was charged with complicity to assault and complicity to receiving stolen property, according to Boone County Juvenile Court records provided to Hamilton County Juvenile Court.
Records show Quarles was convicted of four charges, including first-degree complicity to assault, a felony, in April 2022 and given probation.
In June 2022, he was charged in Hamilton County with having a loaded gun.
Hamilton County Juvenile Court records show Quarles was held in the county Youth Center for one day. Five days later, Quarles was back in the Youth Center. He was released 10 days after that.
Boone County charged him with a probation violation, according to then-Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters.
Igoe, then a Hamilton County Juvenile Court magistrate, allowed Quarles to turn himself in to Kentucky authorities.
At the time, she said Quarles' assault conviction was entered into their system as a misdemeanor.
Quarles was out on an ankle monitor, but cut it off, according to court records.
He didn't turn himself in.
Two weeks after that, in October 2022, prosecutors say Quarles drove a stolen car that hit and killed University of Cincinnati student Cayden Turner, 18, and injured another while they were in a crosswalk.
Quarles — now charged as an adult — is being held at the Youth Center. He faces charges including aggravated vehicular homicide.
Igoe told the I-Team that professional ethics prohibit her from discussing the case.
But she concedes in hindsight there are cases that judges and magistrates wish they had handled differently.
"You know we don't always get it right, but we do the best we can with the information that we are provided," Igoe told the I-Team.
Juvenile court records reveal some of the challenges facing judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and parents of children in the system.
One child went AWOL 10 times from Ohio Department of Job and Family Services custody, according to juvenile court records. Other youth have been charged with crimes days after being arrested for other crimes.
Igoe said some children have been kept in a holding cell for more than 24 hours because officials could not find appropriate placement for them and didn't believe they should be admitted to the Youth Center.
But Igoe insists the answer isn't detaining more kids.
"One of the things we know as a system is the concept of locking kids up to protect society doesn't work," Igoe said.
Who can help
She said some juveniles need support and services available through residential programs.
The teen who raced from police in June 2023 was sent to a facility operated by Abraxas, where he receives counseling and support in an environment that the court and his mother hope will help him turn around his life.
Court records show he had regained the confidence of his mother and is now in a residential program — receiving what his family and the court hope is the help he needs to turn his life around.
Igoe insists juvenile court must try to keep children at home in the community whenever possible. She says community-based programs are part of the solution.
She said the court formed new groups to provide more support for offenders and reduce recidivism.
One of those groups — led by Stan Ross, the Executive Director of the nonprofit Positive Influence Team — brings juveniles charged in auto thefts and former adult offenders together for regular meetings.
The I-Team attended one of their meetings on Feb. 7.
Ross spoke to the group about the importance of following their conscience and making good decisions.
He was the guide but encouraged everyone in the group to share their experiences, especially ones that could benefit the three teens in the meeting.
The adults give the kids straight talk built on a foundation of compassion, accountability and encouragement.
"Let's break that cycle," Pierre Shaw told the teens. "Break that chain. Cause we need y'all."
Shaw, 36, encouraged the three teens — ages 18, 16 and 16 — to share the lessons they learned at the meetings.
"These people who look up to y'all, what we're giving y'all, you can give to them," he said. "Y'all can create your own little group."
Two of the teens talked with the group about their experiences.
"Some people just (steal cars) for fun," a 16-year-old told the group.
But he said auto theft wasn't worth the risk.
"Couple things that could happen," he said. "You get on a chase (by police) or something else, or you dead."
An 18-year-old, charged as a juvenile, talked about not having good role models and how that influenced his decisions.
"A lot of people get peer pressure," he said. "I got lost."
Now, he said, he understands that he's hurting himself and others if he commits crimes.
"You could be different," Donnell Hughes, 41, told the 18-year-old. "It just seems like you got a good mind on your shoulders, man. You just need to connect with some guys doing something different because they out there, too."
Igoe said Ross' program begins by connecting with youth at the Youth Center and meeting with their families, trying to empower the teens without making excuses for their alleged crimes.
"This right here is help that is priceless for you three guys," Ross told the boys at the meeting. "Because you have — I don't know — maybe over 50 years of experience in this room - of stories that these men and women have overcome."
Police are also investing in finding solutions.
Major Orue says the Sheriff's Office's crime analysts - along with other law enforcement agencies - use data from crime reports to track auto thefts, arrest thieves, and prevent crimes.
Orue said most auto thefts tracked by the sheriff's office involve vehicles that are easier to steal.
They usually occurred in areas with a higher concentration of residential neighborhoods close to an interstate, so it's easier to get away, according to Orue.
He said vehicle owners can also make it harder for thieves.
Safety experts provide the following tips to make it more challenging for car thieves:
- Lock the doors
- Use a steering wheel locking device
- Park in a lighted area off the street
- Preferably use a garage if it's available
