A 17-year-old Sunridge youth was arrested Wednesday after he reportedly tried to extort $1,200 from the victim of an earlier burglary he also was accused of committing.
Sheriff's Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said officers responded to a burglary report at 7 p.m. Wednesday at a residence in the 1000 block of Haystack Drive.
The suspect allegedly had stolen several items from the home and left a note for the victims that if they wanted their property back, they were to leave $1,200 in a newspaper stand at the corner of Mica and Haystack before 10 p.m.
Sheriff's office investigators taped an empty envelope inside the rack and set up surveillance. At 10:45 p.m., the suspect reportedly opened the newspaper stand and removed the envelope.
He was detained by law enforcement officers and taken to the county's juvenile detention facility at Stateline. He is set to appear in juvenile court before District Judge Dave Gamble on Tuesday charged with burglary and extortion.
Mezzetta said the suspect lived in the neighborhood and was acquainted with the victims.
At the time of his arrest, the juvenile was armed with a large butcher knife which he told authorities he carried for protection.
Investigators recovered the items, including a safe, in a vacant lot on Mica.
