13-year-old leads Madison officer on brief chase, police say

By: Stephanie Staudinger

Posted: Nov 20, 2017 3:42 PM CDT

MADISON, Wis. - (WISC) An 11-year-old and two 13-year-olds are suspected of being part of a chase with Madison police Sunday afternoon, according to a news release.

Madison police said officers responded to Colony Drive on Madison's west side at about 12:30 p.m for a report of teenagers entering unlocked cars.

Police said that a short time later, a similar call, involving the same group of children, came in on Juneau Parkway.

According to the report, an officer spotted a car in the area being operated by one of the teenage boys involved in the unlocked cars call. The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Fitchburg. The boy driver took off after two passengers fled from the car. An officer attempted to pull the fleeing car over, but terminated the pursuit for safety reasons when the driver accelerated from the Hill Farms Neighborhood, heading east on Regent Street toward Segoe Road. Other officers said they chased down the two passengers: a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.

Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the driver who fled was identified as also being 13. He had not yet been located as of Monday morning.

"The young criminals appear to be looking for unlocked cars in order to steal items from them, or sometimes take them, if keys are inside," DeSpain said.

DeSpain said the police department appreciates residents calling in the suspicious activity, and the department urged everyone to lock their vehicles, even if they're parked near your home on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The 11-year-old boy, of Fitchburg, and the 13-year-old girl, also of Fitchburg, each face a tentative charge of resisting or obstructing police.