OKEECHOBEE — A 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged with grand theft auto after allegedly taking his grandmother’s Ford Focus without permission and driving it into a ditch in Oak Park very early on Saturday morning, Sept. 14. He was transferred to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Leonardo Ibarra-Medrano

Okeechobee Police Officer Jessica Francis responded to a call from the mother of 13-year-old Leonardo Ibarra-Medrano, who became worried when she returned home from work and discovered he was missing along with her mother’s car.

At that time, Leonardo and another 13-year-old boy were already in custody at the Okeechobee County Jail. They were being held on charges of loitering and prowling, because they had been found earlier walking around in Oak Park on someone’s property and reportedly refused to tell deputies why they were there. They had in their possession a black backpack filled with various unusual items such as multiple phone chargers and a glass jar with money in it. The second boy was released to his parents’ custody.