With gun violence in New York State grabbing national headlines, it’s heartbreaking to see a story like this in the Capital Region, involving suspects so young. Three teenagers are charged with felonies after being caught driving a stolen vehicle by Albany County Sheriff’s Deputies over the weekend.

Photo Credit: Kristine Bellino, TSM
Photo Credit: Kristine Bellino, TSM
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According to a Facebook post by Albany County Sheriff Craig D Apple Sr., Deputies attempted to pull over a vehicle around Clinton Avenue and Ontario Street. This vehicle had been reported stolen in Troy an hour earlier.

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The driver of the stolen vehicle tried to make a getaway, but pulled over after sideswiping a patrol car and causing minor damage. The suspects then tried to flee the scene on foot, where three of the five juvenile suspects were apprehended. The suspects caught are 15, 13, and 12 years old.

Maybe the most troubling part of the whole case is that while searching the vehicle, Deputies found an illegally modified flare gun converted to shoot single bullets with a Pobjeda .40 S&W round still in the firing position. Not only are these guns untraceable if used in a crime, they’re extremely dangerous to the user.

Sheriff Craig D Apple, Sr. on Facebook
Sheriff Craig D Apple, Sr. on Facebook
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The likelihood of something going wrong during firing is incredibly high, especially on a plastic flare gun like the suspects were using. Manufacturers and the ATF warn against “conversion kits,” like what was used here, as they fall under "improvised weapons." Flare guns require no permit for purchase, as they’re considered a signaling device.

Sheriff Craig D Apple, Sr. on Facebook
Sheriff Craig D Apple, Sr. on Facebook
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The three teenage suspects now face dual charges: Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, both class D felonies.

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Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young

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