Editor’s note: Full news conference with Mayor Malik Evans and Rochester Police can be found at the bottom of this post.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Six people were arrested Tuesday evening, including a 12-year-old, following a robbery and police chase that began in the area of St. Paul Street and East Main Street, according to the Rochester Police Department.
Around 11:30 Tuesday night, officers were told by two victims in the area of St. Paul St. and East Main that they were approached by a group of people who threatened them with a hammer and demanded property. The group took the property, got into a vehicle, and left the scene.
Police found the suspect vehicle on the west side of the city and a chase began. The 45-minute chase ended on Bartlett Street after the New York State Police and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deployed spike strips. All of the suspects then ran but were taken into custody shortly afterward.
“This pursuit lasted 45 minutes which means that you have a 12-year-old in a stolen car across the city at 12:30 in the morning. If you don’t know it’s not a holiday today. School was in session and as a parent myself with kids under the age of 18 I can tell you were my kids were. They were in bed,” says Rochester Mayor Malik Evans during a news briefing Wednesday afternoon at City Hall.
RPD said the recovered vehicle was a Hyundai Elantra that was stolen from Goodman Section earlier that night.
The six individuals, whose ages ranged from 12 to 17, were arrested, five of them have been charged. One of the teens had recently been reported by his family as ‘missing’.
“We had a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 14-year-old that were all issued appearance tickets to return back to Monroe County Family Court. We also had a 13-year-old, a second 13-year-old, he was transported to a juvenile detention facility; part of that is also because he was served with a warrant for juvenile delinquency, which means he had not been participating in the family court process and there was some reason that the judge had ordered him back to family court,” Lt. Greg Bello with the Rochester Police Department says.
During the news conference, the Mayor addressed what actions parents and/or caregivers can take if they are seeking support.
“I would say you have to go somewhere. If it’s not a school counselor…they can call into the Mayor’s office. We connect people to services all the time. They can call the county, county social services — they connect people to services all the time,” says Evans.
“We have to look at the whole picture and we have to encourage families — if you can’t deal with your wayward child, to reach out for help before it’s too late. we’ve buried numerous young people and treated many gunshot wounds of young people who are all related to stolen cars this year,” he continues.
Mayor Evans also states he feels the court system needs to be playing its role in assuring any mandated treatment is followed through, while encouraging and reminding the public: if you have cameras on your house, send that in for the investigation. This can be done anonymously, through the Report-It app, among other means.
No related accidents or injuries occurred during the chase.
Rochester Police are also investigating whether these juveniles had anything to do with the recent string of car vandalism.
