YOUNGSTOWN — Boys, 15 and 14, were arrested early Thursday at the location where a resident called 911 to alert police to three males in all-black clothing trying to break into a white Kia Forte.

The arrests leave police thinking the boys might have been responsible for some of the many thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in the city in recent weeks.

Youngstown police Capt. Jason Simon called it “highly probable” the boys are “one of the prominent groups” that have been targeting the vehicles.

Officers were called to the 1500 block of Wakefield Avenue at Lemoyne Avenue in the Brownlee Woods area at 12:10 a.m. and found two suspects: One was wearing all black, including a black ski mask on a 65-degree night, standing on the corner of Wakefield and Lemoyne.

An officer reported he “jumped out of my cruiser” and detained the boy, 15, of North Schenley Avenue.

The officer put the youth in his cruiser and went looking for the vehicle and other suspects and found a second juvenile in a white Kia Forte in front of a home in the 1500 block of Wakefield. The second juvenile also was wearing all black.

The car had a broken rear window, and the 14-year-old from Lanterman Avenue was found in the front seat. The steering column was “freshly peeled” and three screwdrivers were on the floor of the car, the officer stated. That juvenile also was handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser.

Officers got in touch with the owner of the car, a man, 65, of Boardman, who was advised how to file charges.

Police contacted the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center about the juveniles, but the facility would not accept them, despite some of the charges being felonies, the report states. The 14-year-old was facing possible charges of auto theft and possessing criminal tools. Both boys were written a citation for a curfew violation and released to relatives.

Police confiscated a cellphone from the 14-year-old. It was “going off non-stop,” police said.

The other boy also had a cellphone, and it also was “going off,” the report stated. Police also confiscated that phone. It contained a photo on the main screen showing a rifle that looked like one stolen by juveniles Tuesday on Ambert Avenue, the report states.

The police department was bombarded with reports of Kia and Hyundai automobiles being stolen or damaged in apparent theft attempts in recent weeks, including one July 24 in which the owner said a car was targeted for the fourth time. The reports continued last week and this week.

The Vindicator counted eight reports Tuesday through Thursday last week involving Kias or Hyundais having either a broken window or having been stolen. A large number was reported again this week.

Thefts of such cars has plagued Youngstown and many other areas. The Highway Loss Data Institute, a nonprofit research organization, stated in 2021 that Kia and Hyundai automobiles are a target because they do not have electronic immobilizers that prevent thieves from breaking in and bypassing the ignition.

On July 24, a person living on Dupont Street on the North Side reported to police that someone broke out the driver’s side window of a Kia Optima in an attempt to steal the vehicle, but they did not take the car.

The person said the damage was done at about early in the morning. The owner made a report July 8 the last time it happened and “is fed up this is happening,” a report states. It was the fourth time someone had tried to steal the car.