Police: 'Dangerous' teen sent home after crime spree, arrest

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Police call a 14-year-old juvenile offender "dangerous" after officers said he led authorities on a chase in a stolen vehicle, crashed it and fled on foot before his capture. 

Atlanta Police call the teen's punishment "frustrating": after the juvenile was taken by officers to the Fulton County youth detention center, he was not forced to go to jail by the court system, and was immediately released back to his parents. 

"To have them turned over to a guardian and not go to jail that night is something very frustrating to us," said Sgt. John Chafee. "It brings up the concern whether they're going to be out doing the same type of thing... We end up encountering them involved in criminal activity again," Chafee said, noting the continued concern over repeat juvenile offenders throughout Fulton County. 

Police said Wednesday afternoon, after officers spotted a 2016 white Ford Mustang stolen the day before, asked Georgia State Patrol to pursue the vehicle; the vehicle fled south and crashed on the I-75 at University Avenue ramp. The chase and crash shut down the southbound lanes of the Downtown Connector for some time.

Inside the vehicle were two 14-year-olds and a 19-year-old. 

Police couldn't find an arrest record in Atlanta for the 14-year-old driver, but police said the other young passenger had been previously charged with participating in gang activity and possessing a stolen vehicle.

The 19-year-old in the car, identified by police as Gracious Williams, was transported along with the 14-year-old passenger to Cobb County on previous warrants.