Police officers live by the motto “to serve and protect,” but a 13-year-old Athens boy may not fully understand the meaning.
Authorities said the boy tried to enlist the help of an Athens-Clarke County officer early Saturday after allegedly stealing an all-terrain vehicle from nearby federal property.
The boy was pushing the Kawasaki four-wheeler up a hill on North Avenue around 1 a.m. when the officer approached. The boy asked the officer if he could help him push the ATV up the hill, police said.
The officer determined that the 2005 dark green Kawasaki was stolen from a fenced-in area behind the U.S. Federal Building at 355 E. Hancock Ave. in Athens. An employee from the building arrived at the site where the boy was stopped and identified the vehicle.
The 13-year-old was charged with theft, possession of tools for the commission of a crime and curfew violation.
The ATV was returned to the federal building and the boy was returned to his mother.
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