12-year-old serial car theft suspect: 'They need to lock him up,' says alleged victim

One of the alleged victims of a young car thief whose crimes have been confounding authorities for months says the authorities need to "make an example" of the 12-year-old.

WASHINGTON - One of the alleged victims of a young car thief whose crimes have been confounding authorities for months says the authorities need to "make an example" of the 12-year-old.

Montgomery County Police have filed several orders in an attempt to stop a 12-year-old boy from continuing to steal cars. This same young suspect has been tied to as many as 17 crime scenes in Montgomery County and near the University of Maryland.

By law, the boy is too young to face charges and continues to steal cars and e-scooters.

"They keep letting him go because he’s a minor. His parents don’t even pick him up, that’s how ridiculous it’s gotten," said Aaron Williams.

Williams spoke to FOX 5 DC next to his damaged Ford Focus, which was stolen on August 23 from a Rockville auto repair shop. He admits the keys were left in the car, and according to the police report he showed us, it was stolen around 3:00 a.m. Montgomery County Police later spotted the car on Rockville Pike, leaving a Jaguar dealership in Bethesda, with its lights off. When police pulled the car over, they found the 12-year-old boy behind the wheel.

"I’m as liberal as they come, but they need to lock him up at this point because they need to make an example out of him. He keeps thinking he can get away with this because there are no consequences. You need to show these kids there are consequences in this world," said Williams. "And I’m sure he doesn’t even grasp the full weight of the situation. So yeah, make an example out of him. I’m always advocating for rehabilitation, but I feel like he’s beyond that. We’ve given him an inch, and he’s taken a mile — far too many miles with my car."

Williams also shared that when police caught the boy in his car and notified his parents, they didn’t come to get him. The police report shows that Montgomery County authorities returned the boy to D.C., dropping him off at a local police substation.

"I need somebody, I need Wes Moore, I need someone to look into this. They need to change some laws because they just let him go, and his parents don’t even care. It’s actually ludicrous to me," said Williams.