SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — One of the teenage burglary suspects shot this week by an Onondaga County deputy sheriff had been arrested earlier this summer for similar accusations of vehicle theft and burglary, law enforcement sources confirm to NewsChannel 9.
15-year-old Lueth Mo was arrested by New York State Troopers in July, accused of driving a Kia-brand vehicle stolen from Syracuse to burglarize a gas station on Webb Road in Cortlandville.
After not pulling over, State Police says its troopers chased Mo and an unnamed 16-year-old in the vehicle through multiple counties, including Tompkins, Cortland, and Onondaga. The vehicle continued on flat tires and rims after Troopers deployed tire deflation devices, police reported at the time.
The teens ran from the vehicle on I-81 in LaFayette and were arrested in the woods, police said in July.
Investigators say the suspects were found to have stolen tobacco products, marijuana, clothes, and sneakers.
Neither teen was named by police at the time, because of their age.
Sources now confirm Mo, the 15-year-old arrested then, is the same accused this week of another multi-county crime spree. Mo and five other teens are accused of stealing vehicles from Eastwood, driving them to burglarize smoke shops in Oneida and Mattydale.
After being approached by an Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy in a parking lot in DeWitt, the sheriff says one car drove away and another, with Mo, tried to run over the officer.
The deputy fired three gunshots toward the vehicle, which sped away.
Mo and 17-year-old Dhal Pothwi Apet were found later in the vehicle, which had crashed on Mooney Avenue. One had already died and the other later died. A third person in the vehicle had run away.
Initially, police hadn’t found the four other suspects, but have since made contact with some of them. No arrests have been made, a sheriff’s spokesperson tells NewsChannel 9.
The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the crimes. The State Attorney General is investigating the shooting to determine if the deputy’s actions were justified.
