Mo. Boys Arrested in Wal-Mart Joyride

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A pair of 9-year-old boys broke into several cars Tuesday morning before stealing a pickup truck and driving it to the local Wal-Mart Super Center, Kirksville police said.

One of the boys apparently sat in the drivers’ seat to steer the half-ton Chevrolet pickup while the other manned the gas pedal and break, Sgt. Steve Farnsworth said.

Police arrested the juveniles around 9:30 a.m. after getting a call from a tractor-trailer driver who spotted the stolen pickup weaving down U.S. 63 in Kirksville.

Authorities believe the two boys decided to skip school Tuesday and then stole a BB gun pistol, a pack of cigarettes and two lighters from vehicles in the Kirksville High School and Vo-Tech parking lots.

When the pair found a truck with keys in the ignition, they drove about two miles to Wal-Mart, Farnsworth said.

“Although there is some humor to the story,” Farnsworth said, “this could have turned into a serious tragedy.”