BATON ROUGE - A teenager led police and sheriff's deputies on a foot chase through a Baton Rouge shopping center after law enforcement rolled up on two people trying to steal lawn equipment.

The Baton Rouge Police Department initially responded to the Siegen Lane Marketplace around 1:20 a.m. after the pair was seen outside a Lowe's home improvement store. They were trying to steal zero-turn lawnmowers parked outside the business, and officers arrived as the thieves were loading the equipment onto a trailer. 

The two fled on foot once they spotted police, and East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies soon joined the search for the suspects because part of the shopping center lies outside city limits.

Soon afterward, a Sam's Club employee contacted police saying one of the thieves snuck into the store, which was closed for the night. Officers found one of the suspects, a 17-year-old, inside the business. 

Sheriff's deputies took the teenager into custody and booked the suspect into the East Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center on a charge of felony theft.