13-year-old in custody after car thefts, break-ins in Pontiac and Waterford Twp
Charges are pending for a 13-year-old suspect after multiple vehicles were reported stolen and several businesses reported break-ins over the weekend in Oakland County.
An Oakland County Auto Theft Task Force investigation led detectives to a 13-year-old suspect, who they say has two prior arrests for vehicle theft.
Car thefts in Pontiac, Waterford Township
The backstory:
A string of crimes were reported over the weekend in Pontiac and Waterford Township, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office believes the crimes are related.
Big picture view:
The reported crimes include:
- Two stolen vehicles from a landscaping company
- Break-ins and damage at two car dealerships
- A vehicle stolen from a Waterford Township dealership
- Several vehicles damaged at multiple locations in attempts to steal them
- Retail fraud at a dollar store
A 13-year-old suspect is now in custody.
What we know:
On Saturday, Sept. 19, a Chevrolet pickup truck was stolen from a Pontiac landscaping company and used to ram through a fenced parking lot, the sheriff’s office said.
The next day, the same landscaping company reported a second vehicle was stolen, a Dodge Ram.
Then on Sunday, a break-in was reported at a car dealership on Cesar Chavez Avenue. The suspect climbed a fence, broke a window with a rock and stole several sets of vehicle keys, authorities said, and tried to drive through a gate in a Dodge Charger. The Charger was badly damaged and abandoned, and then a Dodge Dart was stolen from the lot.
The stolen Dodge Dart was driven to a dealership in Waterford Township and used to ram another gate.
And following that, the sheriff’s office said retail fraud occurred at a nearby dollar store, where two additional cars in the parking lot were damaged during unsuccessful attempts to steal them.
What we don't know:
Authorities didn’t elaborate on the retail fraud that they allege happened at the store.
Video perspective:
Surveillance video showed the break-in at the Pontiac dealership and other reported crimes, and police were able to identify the suspect as a 13-year-old boy from Pontiac.
The video isn’t being released due to the suspect’s age.
13-year-old in custody
Big picture view:
The sheriff’s office found and took the boy into custody. The juvenile, who has not been named, is currently in custody at Oakland County Children’s Village.
Authorities say they handed over a 16-count petition to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Dig deeper:
The sheriff’s office said the suspect had previously been arrested twice in 2025 in connection with vehicle thefts in Pontiac and Waterford Township.
What they're saying:
"Stealing a car, unlawful driving away of an automobile - that’s a serious felony. A lot of issues (here) with property damage and theft. All of those, if you’re an adult, can send you to prison, literally, especially when you’re a repeat offender, which he already is, at the age of 13," Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard told us.
"Unfortunately, I think the probate court is going to take a much sterner hand on him because the path he’s headed on, … grand theft auto does not have a good path for his future."
The Source: Information in this article was taken from a press release from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.