Warren County prosecutor outspoken about juvenile crime after Springboro auto thefts

Yahoo

12-07-2025

Jul. 12—Following two attempted vehicle thefts from Springboro neighborhoods this week by teenagers, Warren County's prosecutor was outspoken about what he called a lack of criminal justice against juveniles.
"From my perspective, this is the No. 1 criminal justice issue that currently exists in our county: Out-of-county juveniles stealing vehicles from ordinarily nice, safe neighborhoods in Lebanon, Mason, Springboro, everywhere," said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell on his Facebook page.
"Why juveniles? Because they know they will be treated less harshly because they are juveniles."
Springboro police investigated attempted auto thefts on Wednesday and Thursday from the Settlers Walk neighborhood.
"During the last two nights, our officers have successfully intercepted vehicle thefts in progress in two of our neighborhoods," according to a Facebook post by Springboro police. "On July 9, midnight shift officers found subjects in a fresh stolen vehicle driving through a neighborhood as they looked to commit further crimes. That vehicle fled and was briefly pursued into Miami Twp. where officers terminated the pursuit. This certainly prevented another car being taken from our city that evening."
And then on Thursday, Springboro police in the Settlers Walk area around 3:07 a.m. said they found a suspicious vehicle driving through the neighborhood and when attempting to stop the vehicle, it fled and led to a pursuit into Dayton.
Police said the occupants eventually fled the vehicle on foot and two juvenile suspects were apprehended with the assistance of the Dayton Police Department.
This vehicle was later found to had just been stolen from Settlers Walk, according to police.
Both juvenile suspects were arrested and booked into the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center.
Fornshell said the prosecutor's office needs support.
"Police departments and prosecutor's offices can only do so much. We need the support of everyone, including all of our legislators in Columbus and all of our juvenile court judges in the state, to hold juveniles accountable for their actions and not minimize the conduct because they happen to be underage," Fornshell said.
"We know from experience that failing to hold people to account when they are younger yields worse conduct and more harm to society once they reach adulthood."
Springboro police asked homeowners to check their home security cameras overnight and to contact them if individuals have any video regarding the suspects.
"This is a reminder that our officers will continue to make every effort to prevent/apprehend the individuals that decide to come into our city and steal cars,"" police said. "We also remind our citizens to always lock your vehicle's doors and please do not leave any valuables or keys/key fobs in the car. As always, if you see anything suspicious, do not hesitate to report it immediately."
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