Stamford police: Boy and girl, 17 and 13, involved in car thefts

STAMFORD — A 17year-old Bridgeport boy has been charged with felony larceny for allegedly stealing a Porsche out of a North Stamford driveway earlier this month. Police allegedly caught him this week driving another car on Long Island, along with a younger girl driving the Porsche.

Sgt. Sean Scanlan said the boy, who is on probation for earlier offenses and facing more criminal charges for allegedly stealing a car in Suffolk County, New York, was charged with first-degree larceny, illegal use of a credit card, identification theft and two counts of sixth-degree larceny. The youth’s identity was not disclosed by police be because of his age.

He was released to his mother on a promise to appear in court.

Scanlan said the 2017 Porsche Panamera, containing a wallet, was stolen from a driveway in North Stamford, close to the New York border, at around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. The vehicle had been left unlocked with the keys inside, Scanlan said.

Investigator Rick Vetter discovered that a card in the wallet was used to purchase gasoline at the New Canaan rest stop on the Merritt Parkway. Not only did the card buy gas to fill up the Porsche, it also was used to fill up a second vehicle, which turned out to be stolen, accompanying the Porsche, Scanlan said.

Three days later, police got a call from police in Patchogue, Long Island reporting that the Panamera had been recovered there.

Long Island police said they found the car when they were chasing down a stolen BMW that had been taken at about 3 a.m. Monday. As police were following the car, tracking it by its GPS, they discovered that the Panamera was following behind the BMW.

A 13-year-old Bridgeport girl was driving the Porsche at the time, police said. The 17-year-old Bridgeport boy was found driving a third stolen car, which was also recovered along with the BMW and Panamera, Scanlan said.

Scanlan said a mug shot was compared to video taken at the Merritt Parkway gas station. The 17-year old matched the suspect in the video using the credit card and operating the stolen Porsche at the rest stop, police said.

“We got great pictures of him pulling up and filling up the Porsche while using the stolen credit cards,” Scanlan said. “This was a nice follow up by officer Vetter.”

It was unclear what the girl or the third driver were charged with.