A minor responsible for serial thefts and damages has been arrested.

The Catanzaro Carabinieri are on the trail of the minor.

LAMEZIA TERME - Thefts, damage, and fires of parked cars in the city center. A minor has been arrested and is believed to be responsible for serial thefts and damage. Footage from private citizens' security cameras is crucial. Twenty-seven crimes were committed in a single night. On Thursday, October 30, 2025, in Lamezia Terme, the Carabinieri arrested a 17-year-old local man believed to be the perpetrator of the fire that destroyed six parked cars and a moped on Viale 1 Maggio on the night of July 6, 2025. The young man is also believed to be responsible for the theft, committed that same night, of a car parked nearby on Via XX Settembre. Having driven without a license to flee, the young man damaged numerous parked cars, destroying everything in his path: street furniture, benches, flowerbeds, and shrubs. The minor was also charged with participating, on the night between February 28 and March 1, 2025, together with another child of the same age (already identified and subjected to a precautionary measure in June 2025), in a series of 27 incidents, including aggravated thefts and damage to cars parked in the streets of the city center.

As many as 45 video surveillance devices were also made available by private citizens

The young man's arrest was carried out by Carabinieri officers from the Lamezia Terme company's Operations and Radiomobile Unit, following a precautionary custody order issued by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations of the Juvenile Court of Catanzaro, at the request of the respective Public Prosecutor's Office. Initially, the Carabinieri investigated 27 crimes, including aggravated car thefts and vehicle damage, which occurred in the streets of Lamezia Terme's historic center on the night between February 28 and March 1, 2025, managing to identify only one of the two perpetrators. The investigation, which included tailing, was based on the review of a vast amount of video footage. Over 180 hours of footage was collected from 45 video surveillance devices, some of which were made available by private citizens. This phase of the investigation also included an event that occurred on April 3, 2025, when, in the Sambiase district of Lamezia Terme , all the tires of a parked car were punctured.

The investigative breakthrough occurred during the night of July 6, 2025

On that occasion, too, investigators' investigations had traced responsibility for the attack to the same young couple who, just a month earlier, had struck in the historic center. As a partial outcome of the investigation, on June 16, 2025, one of the two alleged perpetrators, a minor at the time, was arrested by the Carabinieri of Lamezia Terme following a precautionary measure issued by the investigating judge of the Catanzaro Juvenile Court. Given the seriousness and public alarm raised by the events that occurred on the night of February 28 and March 1, 2025, as well as by the vehicle damage on April 3, the Carabinieri continued their investigation, aiming to shed full light on the facts. The investigative breakthrough occurred on the night of July 6, 2025, when a person stole a car parked on Via XX Settembre and, with reckless and dangerous driving behavior, then crashed into numerous parked cars, also damaging public benches and flowerbeds.

Footage acquired from 15 additional public and private video surveillance devices

Furthermore, that same night, shortly before the car theft, six cars and a motorcycle had been set on fire on nearby Viale 1 Maggio. The Carabinieri, assuming the events could be traced back to the same individual, sifted through footage acquired from 15 additional public and private video surveillance devices, totaling over 30 hours of recordings. The meticulous analysis of the footage, combined with further technical analysis of the phone records, allowed them to unequivocally identify the perpetrator as a minor from Lamezia Terme. The Carabinieri thus conducted a sort of electronic tailing, reconstructing every inch of the minor's movements during the hours of interest to the investigation. The man was captured on numerous city surveillance cameras, both during the initial fire that destroyed the seven parked vehicles, and during his escape, during which he caused serious damage to other parked cars and street furniture.

The minor's modus operandi

Investigators, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Catanzaro Juvenile Court, having thoroughly examined the minor's modus operandi, reanalyzed all the footage acquired during the initial investigation, dating back to March 2025. This investigation allowed them to isolate important evidence against the minor, who was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit the crimes of the night between March 28th and March 1st, as well as the property damage in the Sambiase area on April 3rd. Consequently, the precautionary measure was executed, with the young man being taken to the Catanzaro Juvenile Detention Center . In addition to the knowledge of the area provided by the numerous Carabinieri stations scattered around Lamezia Terme, the images from numerous public and private video surveillance systems were crucial. In particular, numerous private individuals, faced with the devastation caused by the serial crimes, were willing to make their images available.

Need for interventions as quickly as possible in contexts of particular social marginalization

Of particular concern is the increasing frequency of minors being implicated in criminal activities , with roles that suggest their premature adulthood. This demonstrates the need for the most timely intervention possible in contexts of particular social marginalization and educational poverty. This intervention aims to promote effective forms of prevention and social reintegration, with systematic and coordinated efforts from all institutions in relation to their specific areas of expertise. The related criminal proceedings are pending in the preliminary investigation phase. Measures adopted during the investigation and/or trial phase do not imply any liability on the part of the persons under investigation or the accused. Information on ongoing criminal proceedings is provided to clarify the stage at which the proceedings are pending and to ensure, in any case, the right of the person under investigation and the accused not to be declared guilty until guilt has been established with a final sentence or criminal conviction decree, according to a press release from the Carabinieri.

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