Story highlights Police: The boy missed two court appearances, possibly due to transportation problems

Report: The prosecutor regrets that his office requested an arrest warrant

(CNN) Police in Idaho arrested a 9-year-old boy who failed to appear in court. His crime, they say? Stealing a pack of gum.

The petty theft actually took place over the summer, but a Post Falls officer made the arrest last week, Police Chief Scott Haug said.

"A local judge issued an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old for failure to appear in court," he told CNN. "Our officer located the child sometime last week, transported the child to the detention facility. The child was not handcuffed and was treated very well."

Even so, the police chief called the arrest warrant for the child "odd" and said "it is a most unusual circumstance."

The arrest warrant was issued after the boy missed two court appearances, Haug said. The chief said he thinks the court appearances were missed because the boy's mother was having difficulty finding transportation.

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