COLUMBUS – Authorities using a “bait car” reeled in three would-be teenage car thieves in the OSU campus area last week.
The Columbus Police and The Ohio State Highway Patrol joined forces for “Bait Car Operation – University District,” which resulted in the arrests of two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old and the recovery of a firearm according to Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Joe Albert.
The vehicle was deployed five times between 4:00 and 10:00 p.m. Friday near three campus-area intersections, Albert said.
A 17-year-old boy got in the bait car at N. High Street, south of E. 17th Avenue at 5:40 p.m., about 10 minutes after the vehicle was placed on the street at 5:30 p.m.
He was arrested after a foot chase, in possession of a loaded gun, and was charged with motor vehicle theft and carrying a concealed weapon, Albert said.
The two 15-year-olds were arrested when police say they tried to steal the bait car at N. High Street near E. 18th Avenue at 9:32 p.m.
Albert says the vehicle traveled a short distance before officers stopped it and made the arrests.