Teenager Smashes Open Kiosks in Helmet... Caught by Police

[Anchor]

A teenager has been arrested by police for stealing cash from multiple unmanned stores. Investigations revealed that the crimes were committed to pay off debts from online gambling.

Reporter Lee Hyun-jung has the details.

[Reporter]

At an unmanned store in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, last month.

A man wearing a helmet fiercely strikes the padlock on a kiosk with a hammer, then opens the safe door and scoops up paper money.

Another unmanned store nearby.

CCTV cameras are clearly visible right in front of him, but he pays no mind as he smashes the terminal with a hammer as well.

Responding to reports from victims and witnesses, police were searching the area when they spotted the suspect fleeing on a motorcycle.

When a police car blocked his path, he even abandoned the motorcycle and fled, but was ultimately caught hiding in a nearby building parking lot.

[Jeon Min-geun / Investigator, Violent Crime Team 4, Ilsan Seobuk Police Station: We spotted the suspect driving erratically. We checked the appearance of the suspect waiting at a traffic light, and his motorcycle helmet, the earphones attached to the helmet, and the shoes he was wearing matched those worn during the crimes.]

When police caught him, he turned out to be a 16-year-old boy surnamed A, who was investigated for riding a stolen motorcycle without a license to commit the crimes.

Police stated that the cash stolen from a total of 10 locations over three days amounted to about 870,000 won, while the repair costs for the damaged terminals totaled about 3.8 million won.

According to police, boy A stated during the investigation that he committed the crimes to pay off debts incurred from online gambling.

Boy A has dropped out of school and is over the age of 14, meaning he does not fall under the category of a juvenile juvenile delinquent protected under the law.

Police plan to investigate the specific details of the crimes surrounding boy A and forward him to prosecutors without detention on charges including special larceny, attempted special larceny, and driving without a license under the Road Traffic Act.

(Video Editing: Jung Yong-hwa, Footage Provided by: Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.