MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 15-year-old boy accused of attempted robbery in Marion County turned himself in on Wednesday after his mother recognized him on deputies’ social media and drove him to the sheriff’s office, according to investigators.
The attempted robbery occurred around noon on Dec. 17 outside of the Qwik King convenience store along Oak Road, where the boy allegedly approached the driver’s side window of a parked vehicle while wearing a ski mask, pointed what appeared to be a gun at the driver and demanded money, his arrest affidavit states.
Instead of opening the door or rolling down the window, the driver told deputies that he reached under his seat as if to grab a gun of his own, at which point the boy ran behind the store, got on a bicycle and left the scene, according to the affidavit.
Come Dec. 30, when deputies said that all routine investigative efforts to locate the boy had been exhausted, the sheriff’s office posted a photo on its social media showing the boy’s exposed face, as it was seen on surveillance footage, the document states.
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On New Year’s Day, the boy’s mother drove him to the agency’s Silver Springs Shores District Office so that he could turn himself in, according to the affidavit.
The document goes on to explain how the boy’s mother decided to bring him to the sheriff’s office “because her son’s face is all over the internet,” as well as suggesting there was a record to set straight. Specifically, the boy said that he was wielding a BB gun instead of an actual firearm and denied demanding the victim’s vehicle along with his money, as the sheriff’s office’s social media claimed he did.
While being interviewed, the boy told investigators that he threw the BB gun into a pond after seeing the sheriff’s office’s social media and becoming scared. The item had not yet been recovered at the time of this report, the affidavit states.
The boy agreed to dictate an apology to the victim, during which he said that he had a lot going on in his mind that day and felt like he learned his lesson, according to the affidavit. Before being taken to the Marion County Jail for juvenile intake and processing, the boy also promised he would never do it again and expressed his hope that the victim would accept his regret, the document states.
News 6 is not naming or showing the boy.
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