20 TEENS IMPLICATED IN BURGLARIES; SUSPECTED RINGLEADER TAUGHT OTHERS TO STEAL FROM HOMES, POLICE SAY.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Residents of one of America's safest cities were stunned this week as news spread that 20 local teens had been implicated in a burglary ring believed to have stolen jewelry, guns and electronics from neighbors' homes to buy drugs.

Fifteen boys, ages 14 to 18, were arrested Tuesday and five more have been identified as suspects in a ring that investigators said may have stolen $8,000 in merchandise from unlocked homes over the last three years. All were arrested on suspicion of burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm and grand theft.

``We found that this was basically a group of skateboarders who devised a scheme to steal,'' Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Dennis Blackstock said.

Earlier this week, deputies raided the home of a teen they believe was the ringleader. Blackstock said the youth taught his friends how to sneak through their neighborhood, checking for unlocked doors and open windows, then how to sell the goods they had stolen.

The teen kept much of the merchandise in his home, his parents likely aware that something illicit was going on, the detective said.

``This kid had all of the items stockpiled in his bedroom and his parents didn't say a word,'' Blackstock said. ``What he had was a literal pawn shop in his bedroom.''

Most of the burglaries were in a web of cul-de-sacs in Saugus, he said, but two confessed to using their newfound skills to burglarize homes during family vacations to San Diego.

He said most of the juveniles arrested were quick to admit their participation and to implicate others - until their parents interfered.

``The parents initially cooperated, too, and then they began to realize how deep this thing went and began to stand in our way, saying we were harassing them,'' Blackstock said.

The boys said they sold what items they could and used the money to buy marijuana and other drugs, Blackstock said.

``Some said they did it to buy marijuana and they were getting about $200 a week from the sale of these materials,'' Blackstock said.

While guns, jewelry and car parts were stolen during the crime spree, Blackstock said electronics were the main items targeted.

A 14-year-old boy who had saved a year's worth of allowance and money he had earned doing chores, lost his brand-new Sony PlayStation to thieves. The game system was found among other stolen items and was returned this week, deputies said.

``My brother worked hard to save up money and buy a PlayStation and that was taken,'' said one neighborhood teen, who asked not to be identified.

Authorities said one home was hit six times after the suspects recruited a teen-age neighbor, entrusted by the residents to house-sit, while they were away on vacation.

``They sought this kid out because he had the key to this particular home and coerced him into letting them in,'' Blackstock said.

Authorities became aware of a pattern a year ago, when numerous complaints about thefts in the Saffron Lane area were recorded at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station. Deputies got a lucky break on Aug. 3, when a panicked parent called after finding a gun in her son's bedroom.

When deputies began making arrests in the neighborhood earlier this month, they were bewildered by the additional revelations that came to light.

``Every time we talked to one of the teens, they would admit to something we didn't even know about so this thing kept getting bigger,'' Blackstock said. ``And it's not over yet.''

Houses along Saffron Lane near Saugus High School have been the primary target. In each case, victims had left their front doors, windows or garages open and burglars took advantage.

``There were no forced entries,'' Blackstock said.

Leslie Borgen, a former board member of the Bouquet Hills Homeowners Association, was shocked to learn that 20 of her neighbors might have been involved in the rash of burglaries. And she said it isn't unusual for residents to leave doors unlocked and garages open.

``We all do it,'' Borgen said. ``We take for granted what a safe city we live in.''