16-Year-Old Florida Teen Turns Himself In For Stealing Ammunition From Police Car

A 16-year-old teen was arrested Thursday after he turned himself in to the police for stealing an assault rifle, ammunition and other gear from an Opa-Locka police car in a Pembroke Pines neighborhood, Florida, and was caught on surveillance video.

Christopher Clarke, 16, turned himself in at the urging of family and friends, following the surveillance footage that was widely shared online.

The teen was caught on video burglarizing the unlocked, marked police vehicle at around 3:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday in the Sunswept neighborhood near Taft Street and 86th Avenue, police said. Police said they were looking for the suspect on account of stealing police equipment right out of a police vehicle, including an AR-15 assault rifle along with three fully loaded magazines.

In the surveillance video, the suspect was seen walking up to the car, opening the unlocked passenger door and stealing equipment such as a tactical vest with police markings on it. The suspect was then seen making three trips to his car, including one while carrying the rifle.

He also took off with a taser and cartridges, and a 16-round, .45-caliber magazine, according to police. Police said the suspect unlocked the car and managed to enter the trunk where the assault rifle was kept and that there was no sign of forced entry.

Opa-locka Police Chief James Dobson said the AR-15 rifle was in the locked trunk, and was not accessible from the interior of the vehicle.

"You can’t get into the trunk from the inside of the car. You have to have a key," said Dobson, adding the only keys of the trunk were with the officer or at the police department. "The rifle was safely secured in the trunk. We’re treating him [the officer] as a victim. Nothing will be done until the investigation is complete," the Miami Herald reported.

Clarke reportedly walked into the Hallandale Police Department on Thursday morning and turned himself in to the authorities. The teen was charged with vehicle burglary.

"The defendant admitted to committing multiple vehicle burglaries that night to include the police vehicle," an officer wrote in the police report, according to the Miami Herald. "He admitted to being in possession of the stolen items to include the rifle. The defendant stated that he threw away the stolen items in different dumpsters but could not advise locations."

Police called the theft a "brazen burglary," and said they did not believe the teen was acting alone.

The Pembroke Pines Police Department said they are still working on recovering the stolen weapons and gear, which the suspect said he had thrown away in different dumpsters, according to ABC News.

Pembroke Pines police has requested any person with information about the stolen items to call 954-431-2200 or Broward County Crime Stoppers, at 954-493-8477. Police also stated the organization accepts anonymous tips and pays up to $3,000 for information, which leads to an arrest, the Sun Sentinel reported.