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Brothers, 11, 14, arrested for gun store theft

Boys accused of gun theft appear in court
Posted at 3:26 PM, Jun 08, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-09 15:35:30-04

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Two boys ages 11 and 14 are charged with 22 counts of grand theft with a firearm after allegedly breaking into a gun store at 3 a.m. Wednesday.

The burglary happened at Guns 4 Less located at 2113 Del Prado Blvd South.

Once officers arrived at the location, the two juveniles were located. They were identified as brothers - ages 11 and 14.

The two boys reportedly ran with multiple guns, ammunition, magazines, and long guns.

Due to the heavy weight of the guns stolen, the juveniles had dropped the guns and continued to run from officers on foot. Officers eventually found both boys near the location of the theft.

Cape Coral Police says that the investigation revealed that the boys cut the power out of the business and forced entry.

Investigators say when the boys made it inside, they smashed the gun display cases and stole 22 guns, rifles, and handgun magazines along with various calibers of ammunition.

Police say that all the stolen items have been located.

Prior to the theft, the two boys went to the store on June 7 around 3 p.m. to look at the guns. The business owner had then asked the boys to leave and they left without incident.

One of the boys is on probation for robbery with a weapon, burglary, and criminal mischief. He was also previously arrested for making threats to another juvenile through social media.

CCPD says that the boys are charged with 22 counts of grand theft with a firearm, one count of armed burglary, one count of criminal mischief over $1,000, and one count of resisting without violence grand theft, possession of burglary tools.

One of the boys was also charged with a violation of probation.

At their appearance before a judge Thursday morning, the boys' father applied for the services of a public defender.

The judge found there was probable cause to keep both boys in juvenile detention for up to 21 days. They have been ordered to have no unsupervised contact with one another.

They will be arraigned July 5.