Winter Haven teen arrested for robbery during Facebook Marketplace meet-up
On May 6, around 7:25 p.m., the victim met with the 17-year-old on Fuji Court in Winter Haven to sell an AUTEL key fob programming device that he used for his locksmith business.
The victim opened the trunk of his car to get the time and was taking it out of the case when the suspect asked how to pay, police said.
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The teen suggested CashApp, and the victim, who had his back to the teen, called his girlfriend to get the information for her CashApp account.
The teen then grabbed the machine from the victim and began running through yards in the neighborhood.
Police said the victim chased the teen and grabbed his hoodie pocket before the teen crashed through a plastic fence gate.
The teen then got up and hit the victim before continuing to run until the victim could no longer keep up.
Officers were called back to the home where the teen crashed through the fence on May 7, because the homeowner located a magazine for a firearm in the yard on the front side of the gate, WHPD said.
On May 9, the same homeowner called police to report that when they were taking out the garbage from behind the gate to the curb, a Ruger 9mm pistol was found. This firearm was reported stolen from a vehicle on April 9, 2025.
Video from the date of the robbery was obtained by police on May 14 and showed the teen walking from the Gotthard Pass area to Seedorf Drive, where he got into a blue Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by his mother.
Detectives contacted the teen's parents, who identified him in the video, and his mother stated she got a call from him asking her to pick him up.
His mother told detectives she could tell something was wrong, but the teen would not say what it was.
Video taken from the teen's home showed him exiting the vehicle just after officers passed the location during the initial response to the robbery, WHPD said.
The teen was questioned, and he told them he took the item from the victim and sold it to someone in Winter Haven.
The teen was taken into custody on May 14 and charged with robbery with a firearm, dealing in stolen property, and violation of probation from another county for three separate cases in 2023, police said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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