Police say 12-year-old keeps burglarizing Md. dealerships

Police say a burglar who hit more than a dozen dealerships in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., over two weeks in August isn't even old enough to drive the cars he's been stealing.

He's also too young to be arrested and jailed for most nonviolent offenses under the state's juvenile justice laws, a loophole that has hamstrung police from stopping the crime spree. The 12-year-old thief has been caught at least eight times, but in each instance officers had to release him, TV station WJLA reported.

The boy allegedly grabbed some candy bars in the showroom of a Jaguar dealership before making off with a car, and snagged some ice cream from a freezer filled with customer snacks after ramming a stolen car into a service bay door at an Audi store.

Managers at the dealerships being targeted — and some worried their businesses could be next — told the TV station they're frustrated, though none agreed to go on camera.

"In the case of someone who is under 13, they are completely immune from accountability or consequences of almost all property crimes," Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund," told WJLA. "The Maryland juvenile justice system is set up so that there are little if any consequences for most juveniles' involvement in criminal activity."

The Rockville City Police Department told WJLA it has filed a Child in Need of Supervision request seeking action from the state Department of Juvenile Services, but the process can take several months.