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Four teens who police say skipped school to steal a car and burglarize 10 homes around Northwest High School in Germantown last month were arrested and charged with burglary, conspiracy and attempted theft earlier this month, according to police.

Juveniles are increasingly breaking into homes and vehicles in Germantown while school is in session, said Montgomery County Police Capt. Thomas Didone, commander of the 5th District station in Germantown.

There are no firm statistics, he said, "but the last few burglary rings we've closed by arrests have involved people 18 and under." Didone said he wants to work closely with the schools in Germantown to cut down on crime involving teenagers.

"We'll be looking next year to see if we can link the connection between truancy and crime," Didone said.

The teens arrested June 3, students at Northwest and Seneca Valley high schools, are suspects in 13 more daytime burglaries, Didone said.

Jorge Javier Montoya and David Adrian Swann, both 18, and two boys ages 17 and 15, all of Germantown, were each charged with 10 counts of burglary, conspiracy and attempted theft, he said.

Montoya, a student at Seneca Valley, was released June 5 on $25,000 bond, according to District Court records. Swann, a student at Northwest, was released on $75,000 bond, according to District Court records. Messages left for Montoya and Swann were not immediately returned. Attorneys are not listed in court records.

The two juveniles, who attend Northwest, are being held at Alfred D. Noyes Children's Center, according to Didone.

The four were each charged with one count of auto theft and unauthorized use of a car, after they stole a 2009 Ford Focus from the 13500 block of Ansel Terrace May 14, according to a police incident report.

Police got their first break when they found fingerprints matching the 17-year-old on a door of a home in the 13300 block of Copper Ridge Road on May 27, Didone said. The teen had been arrested in April for theft and robbery, Didone said.

The four teens burglarized homes during the day, Didone said. One would knock on a home's front door, two would go to the back and one would stay in the car, Didone said. If someone answered the door, the two at the back would enter while the resident was at the front, Didone said.

If no one answered the door, the three suspects would enter the house. Such was the case on June 3. Officers who were monitoring the four youth, followed them to a home in the 19100 block of Cherry Bend Road, Didone said. Didone said three of the suspects entered through the back door.

The three teens left with a safe holding $2,000 and other property, according to police documents. The teens were stopped and arrested, Didone said.

A search of the vehicle turned up stolen property from other burglaries, Didone said, and searches of their homes turned up cameras, video games, computers and alcohol. Most of the recovered property was identified and returned, according to police documents.