Teenage couple, 13 and 14, arrested after taking stolen car on joyride in Flagler County, deputies say

Florida teens stole car for joyride, deputies say

A 14-year-old boy and his 13-year-old girlfriend were arrested after they allegedly took a stolen car for a joyride in Palm Coast over the weekend, according to deputies.

PALM COAST, Fla. - A 14-year-old boy and his 13-year-old girlfriend were arrested after they allegedly took a stolen car for a joyride in Palm Coast over the weekend, according to deputies.

On Saturday, deputies responded to a home in Beach Village Circle after a man reported his silver Hyundai Elantra was stolen, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. He said his car was last seen on Friday night, where it was left locked and secured in the parking lot.

The car had an active GPS, which allowed deputies to track the car – and its ignition, which was removed from the car in an effort to steal it – to the area of Waverly Place in Palm Coast, deputies said. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office shared photos of the Hyundai Elantra with damage caused by the ignition being removed.

Photo: Flagler County Sheriff's Office

The car was found parked in a neighborhood later on Saturday.

Surveillance video from neighbors showed a female getting out of the car on the driver's side and walking toward the intersection of Waters Drive and Waverly Place, deputies said. Deputies eventually identified four other people seen entering the car with the female and made contact with some of them as they entered a nearby Circle K gas station, where the group is known to frequent, deputies said.

The driver and the driver's girlfriend were identified by police. The girlfriend is the female who abandoned the vehicle in the neighborhood, deputies said.

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Photo: Flagler County Sheriff's Office

The 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and is also facing a criminal mischief charge for damaging the vehicle while removing the ignition, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. The 13-year-old girl was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle. FOX 35 is choosing not to name the suspects or show their mugshots due to their age.

They were both transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice released them to their parents.