Jones Co. teen charged with stealing bus, steals another vehicle for Illinois road trip

ELLISVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) – A Jones County teenager recently was taken into custody in Bond County, Illinois, after stealing a vehicle in Ellisville, according to Ellisville Police Department.

This wasn’t the teen’s first joy ride.

In May, he was arrested in Petal after stealing a Jones County school bus.

That trip led to Jones County Youth Court.

Law enforcement said since then, the teen returned to youth court at least once and has hit the road again, committing several crimes along the way.

“Nov. 4 at about 7:45 in the morning, officers responded to Big L Auto Sales across the interstate from this side of town here in Ellisville,” said Ellisville Police Department Investigator Kyle Pickett.

“And a gentleman (who) owns the place had called them saying that one of his vehicles had been stolen and is not on the lot. “

Pickett said the suspect had stacked cinder blocks and old tires to climb through a back window of the dealership. A 2016 GMC Denali was taken from the lot.

The next time it was spotted was in Greenville, Illinois, by a deputy grabbing coffee at a gas station before his shift.

Pickett said the teen was doing ‘donuts’ in a nearby parking lot.

“He asked him, ‘Well, where’s your tag at on your vehicle?’ ‘Oh, well, I just bought it,’” Pickett said. “And the excuse was something to the effect of, ‘I’m 14, emancipated through Mississippi. I have a driver’s license, but I left my wallet in Mississippi and I just bought the car.’

“That wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to most police officers.”

Pickett said this conversation and the arrest of the Ellisville teen happened on Nov. 4 more than nine hours away from home.

“The reason he was up there that he gave the investigator was he had met a girl online, and he was going up there to see her,” Pickett said. “So, that was the whole reason for stealing a vehicle and going up there.

“As far as gas money to get up there, we haven’t figured that out yet.”

This wasn’t the juvenile’s first time in trouble with the law.

Pickett said the teen has been found guilty of two other crimes in Jones County Youth Court, including stealing a school bus in May, and a little later, burglary of an inner door in a local laundromat.

“The judge was able to remand him to the youth detention center for a period of time,” Pickett said.

According to Mississippi procedures, youth court judges can only keep a juvenile in the custody of a local youth detention center for 90 days while the child awaits placement at a proper mental health or rehabilitation facility.

In this case, that would be Oakley Youth Development Center in Raymond, Mississippi.

Oakley also considers mental development before accepting a juvenile.

If there is no space at Oakley within 90 days, the juvenile is released into the custody of his or her parents.

Serious cases can be tried in circuit court as adult cases if it is determined there is no prospect of rehabilitation within the juvenile justice system and the juvenile poses a threat to public safety.

Right now, Pickett said the teen will face felony charges when he returns to Mississippi.

“We would have two felony charges on him ourselves whenever he did make it back here for commercial burglary, for breaking into the business, stealing the key fob, and then stealing the actual vehicle,” Pickett said.

Pickett said right now it is unclear when the teen will return to Mississippi.

No other damage was reported on the stolen vehicle.

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