Two underage teens who wanted to make “easy money” breaking into cars at The Quarters apartments were chased down by police.
Lady Lake police responded Monday to the apartment complex after a resident on a third-floor balcony reportedly saw three men in hoodies going from car to car, opening doors and searching the vehicles.
The teens had been in the vicinity of a white pickup and when an officer arrived, he used his squad car to block the truck. The teens fled on foot.
A 16-year-old was apprehended at the apartment complex with a backpack that contained two guns and two iPads. The backpack belonged to a resident of the apartment complex who had left the backpack in her unlocked vehicle.
A 15-year-old was nabbed at the Circle K service station at 3 La Grande Boulevard in The Villages.
The teens, both from Ocala, said they had come to The Villages to make “easy money,” according to an arrest report from the police department.
One of the teens was arrested on a charge of grand theft auto, possession of a firearm under the age of 18 and burglary. The second teen was arrested on charges of grand theft auto and loitering/prowling.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies later discovered a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe that had been left at Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant in Ocala. It was determined that the vehicle belonged to a 61-year-old resident of The Quarters.