Officers from Upper Perkiomen Police Department are charging two different groups after a rash of area thefts and are looking for a third thought to be responsible for crimes in Pennsburg.

                According to authorities, Officer James McVeigh was on routine patrol Friday shortly after midnight when he attempted to pull over an erratic driver in the 200 block of Pottstown Avenue.

                Police said the driver, later identified as a 15-year-old Pennsburg boy, took off at a high rate of speed and drove into the Pennsburg Shopping Center, where he abandoned the vehicle behind Weis Market.  Four juveniles exited the van and fled on foot into the Montgomery Meadows development.

                Authorities said McVeigh gave chase and apprehended one of the passengers, identified as a 16-year-old East Greenville boy.  The boy was found in possession of several items that were just stolen from vehicles in East Greenville, according to police.

                Police later determined the vehicle, a red 2000 Dodge Caravan, was stolen from the 300 block of State Street a short time before they encountered it. 

                With the assistance of numerous area police departments, the other two passengers were found and identified as a 15-year-old East Greenville girl and a 17-year-old Pennsburg boy.  The driver remained at large, police said.

                After an investigation, police said they learned the driver and the 16-year-old East Greenville boy were responsible for stealing items from several motor vehicles in the areas of the 300 and 400 blocks of Blaker Drive, 400 and 500 blocks of 3rd Street, 300 block of State Street, 300 and 400 blocks of 4th Street, and possibly Railroad Street, in East Greenville.

                The next day, acting on information they received, including tips from the community, police said they found and arrested the 15-year-old driver.  When he was taken into custody, police said he was in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

                The driver was detained at the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center.  Charges are pending against the three passengers, police said, including fleeing and eluding and related offenses.

                Police said they recovered a substantial amount of stolen property and are in the process of identifying all of the victims.  The recovered items included electronics and cash, they said.

                In a separate incident around 1:53 a.m. Friday, Upper Perk Police were called to the 400 block of Colonial Drive in East Greenville to investigate suspicious activity.  A caller reportedly saw two people checking vehicle doors to see if they were unlocked.

                According to authorities, Officer Harry Fisher conducted surveillance at the location and   saw two people flee on Colonial Drive toward Blaker Drive after spotting his patrol car.  

                Fisher reportedly saw the individuals enter a home in the 400 block of Blaker Drive, where he later found them and identified the pair as a 17-year-old East Greenville girl and a 19-year-old Upper Hanover man.  Police are not identifying the 19-year-old subject.

                Authorities said the teens admitted to committing a rash of thefts from motor vehicles in the vicinity of Colonial Village that night.  Police recovered what they again called a "substantial amount of stolen property," including electronics and cash, and are in the process of identifying all of the victims.  Criminal charges are pending.

                Upper Perk Police are also investigating thefts from vehicles in the area of Lake Lane and Seminary Street in Pennsburg.  They said they don't believe the thefts, which occurred last Thursday into Friday, are the work of either of the two groups arrested Friday.

                Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Upper Perk Police District at 215-679-8203.  Authorities are urging residents to lock doors to their vehicles, homes and out buildings.