9-Year-Old on Go-Kart Foils Thief

Suspect allegedly stole bikes from garage, while owner worked 50 feet away
By Shelley Hazen,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 8, 2014 12:03 PM CDT
Updated Sep 13, 2014 7:31 AM CDT
9-Year-Old on Go-Kart Foils Thief
Stock image.   (Shutterstock)

Nine-year-old Nicolas Ferran may have a future as a superhero. Last week in Utah, Nicolas alerted his father when a man allegedly stole two of his dad's expensive bikes (value: $11,000) from the open garage. "He just said, 'Hey Dad, is someone borrowing your bikes today?' I said, 'No pal, why?' He goes, 'Well, there's a guy who's taking off with your bikes right now,'" Travis Ferran tells KSL; he was working in the yard 50 feet away at the time. The elder Ferran called 911 while chasing the thief, who quickly ditched one of the bikes and rode off on the other. Nicolas then hopped in his go-kart and started chasing the suspect, also alerting a neighbor and her husband, who got in their car and joined the chase.

When more people, including an off-duty police officer, joined in as the chase hit a major road, the suspect ditched the remaining bike and took off on foot. He then took shelter behind a tree and removed his hat and shirt, but that didn't fool Ferran's neighbors—they saw him and called police, and Larry Ramon Soto-Johnson, 20, was arrested. His explanation to Ferran? Someone told him to steal the pricey bikes. "Nicolas really is the hero in this … he was really brave," the neighbor tells KSL. As for Nicolas, he says he's glad the alleged thief is in custody "so he couldn't come back to our house and steal any more stuff." (This Maryland 8-year-old used karate to fend off a female attacker.)

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