Kids accused of stealing 22 guns from gun shop get 21 days juvenile detention

Published: Updated:
Gun 4 Less Store
Guns 4 Less store that was broken into. (CREDIT: WINK News)

A father said he feels helpless after his two young sons were arrested for stealing guns from a gun store.

The father, who WINK News is not identifying, spoke about his two sons, ages 11 and 14, after they were arrested for stealing 22 guns on Wednesday from the Guns 4 Less in Cape Coral.

The boys, who WINK News is not naming or showing because of their ages, will spend 21 days in juvenile detention.

But that punishment is not enough for their father.

The boys’ dad said his older son is extremely troubled.

“All they keep doing is keep giving him 21 days, 21 days, a slap on the wrist,” the boys’ father said.

His elder son thinks he can get away with it, he said.

“I want them to stick him in boot camp or some sort of place you know where he has to follow rules because I’m trying and it’s not working and I don’t want to hurt the boy but he tries to jump on me and everything,” their father said.

Their father said he believes his sons wanted the guns to rob people. But, he is scared they will wind up dead or killing someone else.

Records show the Cape Coral Police Department was called 13 times in the past year to the home of the two young brothers.

The father said some of those times were him calling the cops on his own sons.

The father confirmed what police said about the 14-year-old, that he’s got a criminal record.

But his younger son is often coerced into bad behavior by his older brother, the father said.

“I don’t know what to do,” the father said.

The father said the police told him his two sons might be linked to dozens of other crimes.

“I’m finding out news that isn’t even on the news,” said their father.

This is not the first time the man sees his son on surveillance video on the news.

The 14-year-old’s history involves the crime at Larry’s Pawn Shop off Cleveland Avenue, where he and another unidentified boy smashed the glass door but didn’t get inside.  Afterward, the two went to a Wawa where he threatened the cashier with a hammer and stole e-cigarettes, according to the Cape Coral Police Department.

Larry’s Pawn Shop employee Jim said, “I just can’t believe they’d do something like that again they obviously didn’t learn their lesson, they learned that behavior from somewhere.”

In the most recent crime, the two boys are accused of planning and trying to pull off a bold crime, by busting into the Guns 4 Less store and stealing as many guns as they could carry, according to the Cape Coral police.

Cape Coral Police Department spokeswoman Master Sgt. Julie Green said, “They both smashed the display cases and began ransacking the entire business for a total of 22 guns, rifle and handgun magazines, and various calibers of ammunition.”

Elizabeth Pasquale lives near the boys, about a mile away from the gun store.

“Who would think about kids doing things like that. It’s unreal,” Pasquale said.

However, Pasquale said a couple of weeks ago, she saw them both running down her street with a gun.

“They were so realistic but I was thinking they were toy guns they were playing with,” Pasquale said.

Real or fake, Pasquale was scared.

WINK News asked if they believed the kids did this on their own or if were they working for someone?

Cape Coral police said that it’s unlikely that they worked with anyone.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.