ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A 12-year-old boy who has been arrested more than 20 times was arrested again on Monday.  ST. PETERSBURG — A 12-year-old boy was arrested Monday afternoon after St. Petersburg police said he stole a car from an 89-year-old man last week — and officers said this was not the boy's first alleged vehicle theft. Raymond Raftery, the victim, had pulled in for gas at 4890 22 Ave. S. in St. Petersburg when a 12-year-old on a bicycle came over and told Raftery he needed air in one of this tires. When Raftery walked over to the other side of the car, the 12-year-old made his move. "He jumped off the bike and into the car and was gone in 30 seconds," Raftery said Tuesday morning. “I felt kind of dumb after, but I’m saying it’s in the middle of the day, broad daylight, kid’s 12 years old. He was arrested on a charge of grand theft motor vehicle. “He’s a good kid,” the brother said.
– It might seem difficult to discern the thief in a grainy surveillance video, but police didn't have much trouble, per WFLA. After a boy made off with an 89-year-old man's vehicle in St. Petersburg, Fla., last week, police arrested a suspect they know pretty well: a 12-year-old who'd been arrested more than 20 times before, mostly for auto theft. Police say the boy told Raymond Raftery the air in his tires was low. When he got out to check, the boy "jumped off the bike and into the car and was gone in 30 seconds," Raftery tells the Tampa Bay Times. "I felt kind of dumb afterward, but it was broad daylight, and he was a kid." Police say the boy, who subsequently crashed the vehicle, also has burglary and robbery arrests on his record.