9 year old steals cars: The Playstation made him do it!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...a095815S57.DTL

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A 9-year-old boy with a history of stealing cars and running away sneaked onto a plane bound for Texas, getting caught after flubbing an airport connection, officials said.

Semaj Booker apparently obtained a Southwest Airlines boarding card and made it through airport security Monday, hopping two separate flights but landing in San Antonio, Texas — short of his Dallas destination, police said.

The fourth-grader remained Wednesday in juvenile custody in San Antonio. He had been trying to get to his grandfather in Dallas, where he used to live.

The airline said in a statement said a young man approached the ticket counter at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport requesting a boarding pass and said his mother was already in the boarding area.

"The young man's information matched a paid, ticketless reservation for the flight. Based on the information he gave us, he was issued a boarding pass," the airline said. He was not listed as a child because he told the agent he was 12 years old, Southwest said.

Airline employees in San Antonio stopped Semaj from boarding another flight when he couldn't explain why he didn't have a boarding pass for that flight, said David Hebert, spokesman for the San Antonio International Airport.

The boy was unhappy after his family moved to Lakewood, outside Tacoma. His odyssey began Sunday when he stole a car that was left running outside a neighbor's house, only to be spotted by police near the interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 512, authorities said.

Police pursued Semaj at speeds up to 90 mph until he took an exit and the engine blew, after which the car went over a curb and coasted into a tree. He refused to come out of the car, so officers broke a window to unlock a door and immediately recognized him as a frequent runaway and car thief, Guttu said.

He was released to his mother, but he ran away again, authorities said.

The Pierce County, Wash., prosecutor filed three charges against Booker on Wednesday in juvenile court, all related to the vehicle theft. The charges were sent to San Antonio, but Guttu wasn't sure what the next step would be.

Last month, the boy crashed a stolen car before being caught by police in Tacoma, and more recently he was caught in Seattle in a stolen car that had run out of gas, said his mother, Sakinah Booker. She believes he learned to drive from playing video games on a PlayStation.

Booker said she had hoped to soon move her four sons back to Dallas, but Semaj grew tired of waiting.

Semaj was "incredibly motivated to get to Texas," Guttu said. "He doesn't want to live in Washington state."

Coming up next:

Playstation 3 - THE MURDER SIMULATOR
Super Mario Bros - GENOCIDAL GOOMBA KILLER
Sonic the Hedgehog - FURRY PORN INITIATOR (well, that last parts partially true anyway.... :P)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well this is just great. More fuel to boost Jack Thompson's morale. I wonder if he'll ever use this.

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The airline said in a statement said a young man approached the ticket counter at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport requesting a boarding pass and said his mother was already in the boarding area.

He's a crafty little bugger, ain't he? *rolls eyes* And they gave him a boarding pass? *rolls eyes even more*

I feel only the slightest sympathy for this kid.

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The boy was unhappy after his family moved to Lakewood, outside Tacoma.

So one thing in his life doesn't go according to his wishes...this doesn't mean that one should go all wily-nilly and "steal cars". (I'm assuming he doesn't have a poor home-life i.e. bad parents)

I wonder which game it was? GTA? Driver? Regardless, only a fool would take these games literally. Oh, wait, he's a kid, my mistake.

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Although he got what was coming to him, you gotta hand it to him anyway--he's pretty damn clever. Not every fourth grader can drive a car; nevermind steal one, and manage to fool airport security into boarding a couple of flights before getting caught.

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I'm assuming he doesn't have a poor home-life i.e. bad parents

I wouldn't be so sure, since there's no information to go either way. You'd have to be incredibly desperate to resort to these kind of activities..

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Gee, if the Playstation is so good at teaching people to drive, why don't we just hold all driver's ed courses on it?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Someone just pointed out to me that Semaj is James spelled backward.

What the hell was the mother thinking? That's not cute. XD

I was speaking idiomatically.

Learned to drive from Gran Turismo.

Learned to jack cars from Grand Theft Auto 2.

Learned to sneak aboard planes from...Toy Story 2?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, I give him credit for being clever, but he is missing the things that many video games don't teach, such as fueling up, driving the speed limit, and knowing that there aren't any continues in real life....

FELIPE NO

Oh well, if you Americans didnt have all those automatic cars ... =p

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm assuming he drove automatic or...stickshift?!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Quote:

He was released to his mother, but he ran away again, authorities said.

Owned~

Actually I don't think that this is related to the playstation at all. His mother "thinks" he learned how to drive from a playstation game. Any kid these days can create mischief and blame it on video games - it's getting too common.

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Gee, if the Playstation is so good at teaching people to drive, why don't we just hold all driver's ed courses on it?

I heard GTHD is going to be so lifelike that it'll have virtual driving lessons that're valid irl. Your driving instructor will be replaying your data in the PS3 Shop.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This kid is completely full fisted. I like how he just thumbs his nose at the otehr weaker kids to pursue an extreme lifestyle. I really respect and admire him.

Hopefully he gets hired by the secret services because no doubt he'll become the world's greatest actionman spy hero.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by RABicle

This kid is completely full fisted. I like how he just thumbs his nose at the otehr weaker kids to pursue an extreme lifestyle. I really respect and admire him.

Hopefully he gets hired by the secret services because no doubt he'll become the world's greatest actionman spy hero.

lol Jack Bauer in the making.

He crashed and the engine blew up, bet he wished he had played nascar now.

If the story is true, the kid is extremely smart. He obviously has issues that have nothing to do with videogames, so I cannot see in anyway how anyone can blame videogames. Unless theres a prison break video game I dont know about.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by The Furious One

If the story is true, the kid is extremely smart. He obviously has issues that have nothing to do with videogames, so I cannot see in anyway how anyone can blame videogames.

Yeah, I think the kid is pretty damn smart for a 9 year old. But to make the same mistake of getting caught multiple times is kind of silly.

I was speaking idiomatically.

A 9 year old knowing where to go. Genius.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Clever boy. Thats all I can say.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Yuyu_Zeta

Yeah, I think the kid is pretty damn smart for a 9 year old. But to make the same mistake of getting caught multiple times is kind of silly.

His a kid, if he keeps running away its his parents fault they aren't watching him, and not doing much about it either.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

He's a pretty bright kid for being able to do that...Even if it's probably not as hard as it sounds to do. I wonder what the kid's mother could have possibly been doing at the time of the car thefts.

On another note....Semaj...Se-ma-jay? Sem-age? Seh-mage? Whatever.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This is some bullshit, Airport security is so hardcore that they barely let a kid pass with his/her parents, and they just gave this kid a boarding pass? Without even checking if the parents were on it? Yeah right. This is some big ass lies or someone helped him along the way as a gag.

If not he is a NINJA.

no homo

Originally Posted by RABicle

Hopefully he gets hired by the secret services because no doubt he'll become the world's greatest actionman spy hero.

I think we can all agree that the Miami International Airport scene from Casino Royale was based on this kid's exploits.

Car chases, airports, beating up some dude who has a bomb. This kid is a high baller and shot caller.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Zip

If not he is a NINJA.

He may be not now, but thanks to this incident, he has the makings to become one when he grows up.

It sounds to me that the mother is trying to blame the playstation hoping it would appear to be a good excuse in the public eye, seeing that video games are currently being grilled on for voilence content, it would seem beleiveable.

What I would like to know is how would a kid know how to drive a car from playing a race game with a PS2 controller. To drive a car you need to know how to use the wheel, gas, gears, ect...
Must have had one of those 'wheel' controllers.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Chibi Neko

What I would like to know is how would a kid know how to drive a car from playing a race game with a PS2 controller. To drive a car you need to know how to use the wheel, gas, gears, ect...

I was wondering that myself. Sure, he's clever, but if he's stolen cars like that before, I'd think that he'd have a tighter watch on him. The first time can be 'I didnt know any better', after that, I'd say full-extent of juvenile laws. I mean, how would you feel being one of the people who had the car stolen? Besides feeling like an idiot in that a NINE YEAR OLD stole my car, I'd be PISSED if the car was destroyed somehow and the law didnt do anything besides hold him there until his mommy came to pick him up.

Either way, if I was his mother, I'd be pissed. Grounded, no video games, no life what-so-ever for that kid.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well, this kid is intelligent, although, I wonder how much of his behavior is learned.

Like, he probably learned how to drive from having to taxi his inebriated father/parent to/from bars and liquor stores.

Anybody growing up in a bad neighborhood learns how to be an opportunist, stealing cars/bicycles really isn't all that difficult.

He procured someone's name, he used the name to obtain a boarding pass. Not just any one passenger's name, but a name that would match the curcumstances of his story. I.e., he wouldn't have a paper ticket, because the reservation was ticketless. He would be able to lie about his age because how many people who are under the driving age carry IDs with them? This is the part of the story that concerns me the most, because I doubt that a 9 year old would have the know-how to obtain this kind of information, at least without being taught.

Although, he must be physically mature for a 9-year-old, because I don't think I was tall enough to operate the pedals and see over the steering wheel at age 9. Nor was I tall enough to make people believe I was 12.

Dude, I've got it, he's a genetically engineered mutant child with extraordinary comprehensive and motorskills (kind of like in Ender's Saga). He was blacklisted, any knowledge of the project disavowed by those involved and placed in a foster home. Now he's out to even the score with his creators, using his superior abilities and the grandfather cover story.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Yuyu_Zeta

I'm assuming he drove automatic or...stickshift?!

He drove analog stick!

FELIPE NO

Only hilarity can ensue if Jack Thompson picks this up at all and tries to use it.

The Playstation 2 was used as a learning tool to teach someone how to do something! LEARNING IS BAD! OHNOES.

How ya doing, buddy?

I like how yet another story will be fuel added to the rampant fire of video game hate from the undereducated masses. Driving isn't that simple that a PS2 game could teach you, otherwise we'd all just buy the game instead of taking road tests!

When I read that the kid was in fourth grade, I was more in awe than appalled. Not every fourth grader can go out steal a car, lie so well, and craft all these actions so smoothly. Of course he got caught, but he got pretty darn far in the process before getting caught.

I wish I was that smart when I was four, and I wish that he would put that mind to better use, regardless of his circumstance.

Jam it back in, in the dark.