Teens arrested, gun found in stolen mini-van
Aug. 12—LAWRENCE — Five teens were arrested, a loaded handgun seized and a stolen mini-van recovered after an incident at Broadway and Park Street Monday night, according to a police report.
Three females and two males ages 17 or younger were arrested and charged for receiving a stolen motor vehicle and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, police said.
Officers found a loaded Ruger handgun and ammunition amid empty cups, fast food trash and cigar wrappers in the 2017 Toyota Sienna which was reported stolen in Tewksbury, police said.
Detectives Charles Saindon and Angel Lopez, of the police department's auto theft unit, first spotted the stolen mini-van at 6:47 p.m. Monday.
The detectives were previously alerted that stolen motor vehicle had entered the city at 6:20 p.m.
The officers saw the mini-van pull into the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot at Broadway and Center Street. The stolen vehicle then headed north on Broadway toward Methuen, police said.
Once stopped, police ordered all of the teens out and told them to keep their hands in the air, according to the report.
"All individuals were checked for weapons and were sat down on the curb," Saindon wrote.
The teens were booked at the Lawrence police station. Three were released to their parents or a guardian. Bail was set for two teens who were taken to a "secure juvenile facility," police said.
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