Armed teen robs man during Facebook marketplace sale: Police

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A Facebook marketplace sale went sour earlier this month when Winter Haven police say a teen armed with a gun robbed a man trying to sell a key fob programming device.

The backstory:

According to the Winter Haven Police Department, the victim met the teen at a home on Gotthard Pass Dr., around 7:25 p.m. on May 6, 2025.

Police say when the victim opened the trunk of his vehicle to get the item, the suspect asked how he should pay for the item and suggested CashApp.

When the victim reached out to his girlfriend to get her CashAp information, the victim’s back was to the suspect.

Suddenly, police say the suspect grabbed the machine from the victim's hands and began running through yards in the neighborhood.

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The victim chased the teen and grabbed his hoodie pocket. Police say the suspect crashed through a plastic fence gate and fell to the ground. He got up and struck the victim continuing to run until the victim could no longer keep up, according to WHPD.

Dig deeper:

The next day, police were called to a home on Gotthard Pass Dr. where the suspect had crashed through the fence.

Police say the homeowner found a magazine for a firearm in the yard on the front side of the gate.

On May 9, police say the same homeowner reported that when the garbage was being taken from behind the gate to the curb, a Ruger 9mm pistol was found.

The gun was reported stolen from a vehicle on April 9.

On May 14, 2025, police got video showing the suspect walking from the Gotthard Pass area to Seedorf Dr. on the date of the Facebook marketplace meeting and getting into a blue Mercedes Benz SUV driven by his mother.

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Detectives contacted the suspect’s parents, who identified him in the video. His mother said she got a call from her son asking her to pick him up on Seedorf Dr.

She told detectives that she could tell something was wrong, but he wouldn't say what it was.

Police say video taken from the suspect's home shows him exiting the vehicle just after officers passed the location during the initial response to the robbery.

When questioned, the suspect told officers he took the item from the victim and sold it to someone in Winter Garden.

The teen was charged with robbery with a firearm, dealing in stolen property and violation of probation from another county for three separate cases in 2023.

The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Winter Haven Police Department.

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