14-year-old charged as an adult, accused of stealing guns from a Cape Coral gun store

One of the two kids arrested earlier this month for stealing 22 guns from Guns 4 Less in Cape Coral has been charged as an adult for the crime.

Their haul included an AR pistol and 36 boxes of ammo.

The 14-year-old suspect has been charged as an adult with 22 counts of grand theft of a firearm. He has also been charged with burglary, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief.

WINK News is not naming the boys of their age and we are not naming or showing their dad’s face either.

“I hope this is a learning experience not just for him but for any other kids that like my little one and everything. So I hope that they, you know, realize that the state isn’t taking any chances anymore,” said the boys’ father.

The boys’ father doesn’t know what’s going to happen with his son. He hopes his son begins to understand this is serious.

“He thinks it’s a joke. He doesn’t realize the damage and he doesn’t comprehend yet. Reality hasn’t sunk into him. So he doesn’t know yet,” said the father.

According to Cape Coral police, the teen and his 11-year-old brother broke into Guns 4 Less on Del Prado Boulevard South just after 3 a.m. on June 8.

The 14-year-old appeared in court on Tuesday, where a judge set his bond at $286,500. The judge also said that he could not have contact with his co-defendant, his 11-year-old brother.

Police said they received a report from the store’s owner that they had received an alert from their security company, and when they checked their cameras, they saw the two kids inside the store breaking into the display cases.

Cape Coral police responded and the two boys ran. The 11-year-old was caught quickly by police. The 14-year-old was caught shortly after. Police say he tried to hide a stolen gun by a sewer grate before he continued running.

When questioning the kids after the arrest, Cape Coral police said the younger of the two confessed to the robbery and said the two had scouted the store the day before.

Police say the older kid invoked his right not to speak with officers.

During their investigation, police learned that the 14-year-old was on probation and had a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. It stems from an incident last year at a Lee County Wawa where he threatened a cashier with a hammer as he and another boy stole e-cigarettes.

Police also learned that the teen was on intake status for making a mass shooting threat in 2020.

David Thomas, a forensic studies professor at FGCU, said he doesn’t see kids as young as 14 charged as adults very often.

“The only time I used to see it was with murder. So I would say something like this it’s his previous record that has just there’s just a systematic view of his overall delinquency that they can’t tolerate anymore,” said Thomas.

“If they treat this lightly, it’s actually going to entice more situations like this. A building that contains firearms is not a soft target,” said Joshua Araugo, the new owner of Guns 4 Less.