Five arrested including 13-year-old boy over stun gun car-jacking in Solihull

Five car-jacking suspects – including a 13-year-old boy – have been arrested after West Midlands Police traced a stolen car to a Birmingham back-street.

Police call handlers were alerted to a robbery in Burford Close, Solihull, at 7.50pm on Tuesday (21st March) and reports that a group of teenagers had driven off in the victim’s VW Sirocco.

Response officers flooded the area and tracked the car, along with a Vauxhall Vectra believed to have been used by the offenders, to Broadstone Road where four male youths and a woman were arrested.

A search of the area also uncovered a stun-gun type device suspected of being used during the car-jacking, plus the victim’s car keys and mobile phone.

Two boys aged 16, a 17-year-old and a 13-year-old – all from Birmingham – plus a 30-year-old woman from Alum Rock were all arrested on suspicion of robbery.

West Midlands Police Sergeant Carl Grinnell, said: “The man was threatened for his car keys and suffered a minor burn to his hand after being shocked with a stun gun type device.

“Officers did brilliantly to quickly pick up the movements of his VW Sirocco and the Vectra it was in convoy with. They had all five people in custody less than 30 minutes after the initial 999 call and recovered vital evidence.

“It’s disturbing one of the suspects we’ve arrested is just 13-years-old; it follows the charging of two other boys aged 14 recently for similar car robberies.

“There is a suspicion young teenage boys are being coerced into taking part in these types of offences. I would strongly urge anyone asked to participate in such offences to refuse: these teenagers are jeopardising their entire futures by getting involved and may well find themselves spending time in youth offending institutes.”

All five have been bailed until a date in May with strict conditions including 5pm to 7am curfews, regular reporting to police stations and orders to live and sleep at specified addresses. They are also banned from associating with each other.

Read more: https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/news.aspx?id=5520