Three boys, ages 11, 12 and 16, nicknamed the “Little Rascals,” were recently arrested after their parents turned them in for robbing a bank in Houston.
Most kids spend their spring break from school playing video games, watching TV or hanging out with friends, but three delinquents from Houston decided to put their free time to higher use by robbing a neighborhood bank. Police say three boys entered a Wells Fargo bank in the Greenspoint neighborhood of north Houston on March 14, handed a threatening note to a teller and managed to escape on foot with an undisclosed sum of money. When the police arrived and checked the surveillance footage, they were shocked to see that the robbers were incredibly young.
“The age of two younger children is unusual for a bank robbery. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” said Mike Schneider, a retired juvenile district court judge ABC13. “I thought it was either very complicated or maybe it had something to do with the adult. This is not uncommon.”
Police haven’t yet revealed whether anyone else was involved in the bizarre robbery, but for now the three “little bastards” are charged with armed robbery with threat of robbery, a second-degree felony. If proven guilty, they may face probation until they turn 18 or juvenile prison until they turn 19, according to one criminal defense attorney.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, although the three juvenile bank robbers, ages 11, 12 and 16, didn’t produce weapons during the robbery, a note they gave the teller indicated they were armed.
After checking the bank’s security cameras, the FBI began putting up posters saying, “Do you recognize these ‘little rascals?’ Believe it or not, they only robbed a bank. Shortly after the photos of the three perpetrators were published, the parents of the two youngest boys got here forward and handed over their sons. The 16-12 months-old was identified after entering into an unrelated fight and was taken into custody by law enforcement.
“There is nothing happy about this crime,” said former FBI investigator Bill Daly Internal release. “If the police got into the bank, no matter how young the perpetrator was, if he was a threat to him, something bad could happen.”
