PD: Redmond boys, 12 and 8, break into store, steal e-cigarettes

Two Redmond boys — 8 and 12 — have been identified as the pair who broke a window in a convenience store, climbed in and stole e-cigarettes from a display case a week ago, police said Friday. The break in the case came when the middle-schooler brought one to school and was arrested.

Officers were notified around 1 a.m. last Friday, Oct. 12, of a burglary that had just occurred at the Westside One Stop Chevron at 1501 SW Highland Avenue, Lt. Curtis Chambers said. They searched the building and area and found no suspects.

Surveillance video showed two young suspects inside, stealing e-cigarettes from a display case. They broke a window to climb in, left and returned a second time, fleeing when they were observed by a witness, Chambers said.

On Thursday, a Redmond Police school resource officer responded to Elton Gregory Middle School to help staff with a boy who possessed an e-cigarette. The officer recognized the brand of e-cigarette as the one stolen in the burglary and the boy resembled the suspect in the video, Chambers said.

The officer who took the initial burglary report happened to be on duty and also responded to investigate.

As a result, two boys, 12 and 8, were identified as the suspects. The older boy, a Redmond resident, was arrested and released to his parents, facing charges of second-degree burglary and criminal mischief, and second- and third-degree theft.

The 8-year-old also was identified but was not arrested. Chambers said state law says a child must be at least 12 before being arrested or charged with a crime, except in “rare circumstances.”

“Theft and burglary are the most reported crime to the Redmond Police Department,” Chambers wrote in the news release. “Each year, your police department receives over 1,000 theft and burglary reports.

“Combined with other property crimes, such as forgery, fraud, and criminal mischief, the Redmond Police Department maintains an average clearance (arrest) rate of 34.8 percent, which is well above the national average for property crime-related offenses (data from 2012 – 2017),” he said.

“The Redmond Police Department strives to make Redmond the safest community in Oregon,” the lieutenant added. “We are hopeful these two boys will make better choices in the future because they are the future of our community.”