Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies have a juvenile suspect in custody as part of their investigation into an alleged assault with a deadly weapon outside of the movie theater at the Valencia Town Center, an official confirmed this week.
A group of people confronted a 16-year-old near the theater about his alleged involvement in a residential burglary that happened during a house party sometime between 11 p.m. Oct. 15 and 1 a.m. Oct. 16.
When confronted about the burglary on Oct. 22, the suspect, a former Saugus High School student, became upset and lifted up his jacket to reveal a firearm in his waistband, according to court records obtained by The Signal.
The group continued to confront the teenager, and when he reached for his gun, according to witness reports, one of the victims reportedly pepper-sprayed him.
After he was pepper-sprayed, the suspect ran heading westbound on the sidewalk along Magic Mountain Parkway, and the group gave chase. During the pursuit, the suspect then allegedly turned and waved the firearm at the group, according to witness statements, prompting them to run away and/or duck for cover.
Detectives ultimately identified the suspect using school records, body camera footage of previous contacts and DMV records, according to court records.
The juvenile suspect was taken into custody Nov. 9, according to an SCV Sheriff’s Station official, and the detective leading the investigation confirmed Monday that, as of Thursday, records indicated the suspect was still in custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the pointing of a pistol.
A previous court record indicates that on Oct. 16, the victim of the burglary and his mother used the Apple “Find My” application to track a pair of Apple AirPods to a home on Tambora Drive, where the victims believe that one of the burglary suspects lives. The victim recognized one of the residents as a person who was at the residence where the burglary occurred on Spire Court.
During their conversation, the victim also recognized a speaker stolen from their home in a Honda that was parked in front of the residence, according to witness statements.
When questioned, the suspect, a minor, responded, “‘Oh ya. One of the girls we were at the party with stole that from your house. But I don’t have your AirPods,’” according to a report of the incident.
The victim was allowed to retrieve the speakers, but prevented from searching the car further, according to the report.
The victims subsequently left and filed a report with the SCV Sheriff’s Station, and provided station officials with Ring camera footage that purported to show the crime.
A photo the victim took of the Honda’s license plate was traced back to a relative of one of the individuals identified by witnesses as being shown in the footage, according to court records.
A spokesman from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office refused to comment on the allegations or any potential charges facing the juvenile suspect in custody.
