Police: Youths robbed cars during 'Potter'

BARNSTAPLE, Mass., July 15 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts said two youths are accused of stealing more than $5,000 worth of electronics from cars while the owners were watching "Harry Potter."

Investigators said a man waiting for his daughter outside Regal Cinemas in Barnstaple called police after spotting two young men checking car doors in the movie theater's parking lot at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, during the initial screenings of the latest film in the popular Harry Potter franchise, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the Cape Cod (Mass.) Times reported Wednesday.

Barnstable Sgt. Sean Sweeney said an officer arrived at the theater and stopped Michael Gardner, 18, for questioning. The second youth, a 15-year-old not identified by police, fled, but was found a short time later by an officer in a wooded area near the cinema.

The teenagers allegedly admitted the iPods in their pockets were stolen from unlocked cars in the movie theater parking lot and a K-9 officer's dog tracked down two backpacks in the wooded area containing iPods, several cell phones, a laptop computer and identification cards.

Both suspects were arrested and charged with seven counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle in the night, six counts of larceny of property over $250 and one count of painting graffiti.