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Boy, 7, Says He Stole SUV To Do "Hood Rat Stuff"

Posted: 6:54 am EDT April 28, 2008Updated: 10:57 am EDT April 28, 2008

He's just barely tall enough to see over the steering wheel, but that didn't stop a 7-year-old from stealing his grandmother's car and going on a joyride. The boy drove several miles during rush hour before finally coming to a crashing halt.


SLIDESHOW: Images Of The Suspect, Damaged SUV
VIDEO: 7-Year-Old Steals SUV, Goes On Joyride

Latarian Milton is not your typical 7-year-old. Few his age have ever driven an SUV up and down several busy streets. It all started at his mother's townhouse.

Latarian said he took the car keys and hopped into his grandmother's Dodge Durango.

"And when I came though the back door, I look on the counter and my keys were gone," said Zikkita Stratford, the boy's grandmother.

"I took my grandmother's car because I got mad at my mom. And I saw my friend come in and he smoke cigarettes. He started the vehicle and put it into gear. I yanked. I yanked it. I yanked the thing and off they went," Latarian said.

Latarian drove several miles through Lake Park and Palm Beach Gardens.

"We got the one call that I told you about of a driver in the vehicle who looked too short to see over the steering wheel," said Ellen Lovejoy, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

Along the way, he ran over two mailboxes, hit two park cars in a Costco parking lot and struck two moving cars near a Wal-Mart.

"I wanted to do it because it's fun, fun to do bad things, to drive into a car," Latarian said. "I wanted to do hood rat stuff with my friend."

It all ended on Investment Lane and Consumer Drive. That's where Latarian hit the curb and sideswiped a sign. The SUV took most of the beating, snapping off one of its axels and wheels.

"I want to whip his behind. That's what I want to do right now. If I thought they wouldn't take me to jail, I'd whip his behind right now," Stratford said.

Latarian was charged with grand theft auto, but investigators said he probably won't be prosecuted.

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