Crime & Safety
Hennepin County Officials Seek Protection for 9-Year-Old Stowaway
The boy drove a stolen truck into an Edina squad car two days before he sneaked past security and boarded a flight to Las Vegas without a ticket.
Officials are petitioning the Hennepin County Juvenile Court to intervene in the life of the 9-year-old Minneapolis boy who drove a stolen truck into an Edina squad car and sneaked aboard a Delta flight to Las Vegas.
The county's Human Services and the Public Health Department filed a petition Friday morning claiming the boy needs protection or services.
"While it is still not known when the child will return from Las Vegas, a court hearing must be held after he returns," Chuck Laszewski, the spokesman for the Hennepin County prosecutor, wrote in a statement.
The petition comes two days after the boy's father held a press conference in which he said he had unsuccessfully tried to obtain social services for his son.
“If I whoop my son, I get locked up,” the boy's father said with a broken voice during the press conference. “If I let my son keep doing what he’s doing, I get in trouble. Somebody please help me, please.”
The boy will not face criminal charges due to his age.Find out what's happening in Edinawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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