Pint-sized bicycle thieves nabbed in Hyde Park in after-school special

Boston Police report arresting five budding ne'er-do-wells at 900 Hyde Park Ave. near Metropolitan yesterday after a resident spotted them in his backyard around 4 p.m., trying to make off with three mountain bikes he had stored there.

Responding officers found the resident holding one of the five - a lad of just 13 - whom he'd caught when he ran after them. Police say the other four made life on officers easy when they circled back and returned to the scene even as the officers were talking to the victim.

All five face charges of receiving stolen property over $250 and trespassing.