BACK-TO-SCHOOL DAY THREE TEENS CITED FOR BEING TRUANT.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Two 16-year-olds were found eating breakfast at McDonald's, one teen was sitting in the shade at a park, three were driving down a Saugus street - heading away from school - and a 17-year-old runaway was found in Santa Clarita.

The seven teens were among those stopped Thursday by sheriff's deputies conducting a truancy sweep in Santa Clarita.

``Oh, I didn't know,'' said one Valencia High School junior, who was cited. ``I just came to eat breakfast.''

But the teen soon admitted he had been warned two weeks prior about leaving campus and had a record of being absent.

``Every kid you catch doing something wrong is going to tell his friends,'' Deputy Max Godinez said. ``The next time they think of doing something wrong, they'll think about that. At least they know we are out there.''

Though more than a dozen suspected truants were stopped and questioned, just three were cited, including a runaway girl reunited with her mother.

``At first, she didn't want to talk, and after an hour talk, they hugged,'' Godinez said. ``It worked out great.''

A 17-year-old Bowman High student was arrested on suspicion of possession of alcohol, while other students had legitimate excuses for being out of school.

Truancy sweeps are conducted by the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station several times a month in hopes of reducing daytime crime and juvenile loitering.

``We usually get a lot more,'' Godinez said. ``I think the rain kept them away.''

``There are days we don't have any and days we get five or six kids,'' Deputy Dan Finn added.

Deputies concentrate on areas around the schools, including fast-food restaurants and shopping centers, parks and parking lots.

Truants can be cited and arrested under a 1997 Santa Clarita city ordinance aimed at keeping kids in school and reducing juvenile crime. And the state Education Code requires that minors be schooled.

``When we started looking at crime statistics, we found that a good number of crimes were being committed by juveniles in daytime hours,'' Finn said. ``This is a tool to make contact with these juveniles.''

After approaching suspected truants, deputies determine whether they have permission to be out of school by contacting attendance offices, checking student identification cards or calling parents.

Students determined to be truant are cited and ordered to appear in court, then driven back to the school, where they are turned over to administrators.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Deputy Dan Finn watches as Deputy Pat O'Neil talks to a truant student near Saugus High School on Thursday.

(2 -- color) Deputy Dan Finn talks to a Valencia High School student found skipping school during a truancy sweep.

(3) Two students found skipping school are delivered to Valencia High by Deputies Dan Finn and Pat O'Neil.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer