Five black teenagers are facing felony charges after robbing a man at gunpoint in Florida.
The incident occurred on the evening of June 21 just after 9:30 p.m. local time. The male victim was walking home from work when a silver Nissan Frontier pickup truck pulled up alongside him and stopped. The five suspects then got out of the truck and demanded the man give them everything in his pockets. The man responded by saying that all he had in his pockets were a cell phone and a vape pen.
One of the suspects flashed a gun tucked into his waistband and again demanded the items in his pocket. His accomplices then went rooting through his pockets and pulled out the vape pen, which police stated was valued at $30. They demanded his phone, but he refused to give it over and told the suspects the phone was equipped with a tracking device. The man scrambled back into the truck and drove away.
Officers tracked down the truck to a residence nearby, where males matching the description of the suspect were loitering outside of the truck. Upon spotting the officers, the suspects ran inside the home. They refused to exit the home, and a 17-year-old female who answered the door refused to let the officers inside to conduct a search of the premises. Officers called into the residence, and eventually the suspects relented and came out of the house. The men were taken into custody.
Suspects Identified
The suspects were identified as 18-year-old Damarius Jamel Taylor of Avon Park; Tayshawn Williams of Auburndale, also 18; Javon Prince Jackson-Roby of Avon Park; Deshawn Antwon Lampkin of Winter Haven; and Martice Spears Jr., address unknown, all 19 years old. All five were charged with a first-degree felony count of robbery with a weapon and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of petty theft. Taylor was also charged with a third-degree felony for an outstanding arrest warrant in Highlands County.The unidentified girlfriend who was in the truck was arrested and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor count of resisting arrest without violence; officers alleged she gave an incorrect date of birth to make herself appear older than she actually was. The other unidentified young woman, the one who answered the door, was also charged with resisting arrest without violence for refusing to allow the officers inside prior to their arrest.