I think you're giving these kids A LOT more credit than they deserve. The tweakers up here just steal a car, drive it around for a while and then when it runs out of gas, they leave it and take another one.
As for how they got him, I told the cops what he looked like because I watched him walk...
I'm just a nerd who can spot a cruiser from really far away and remember seeing it somewhere else. Tweakers love home Depot BTW so if your car gets stolen, check there lol