14-year-old and younger brother steal 22 guns — but drop when too heavy, Florida cops say

Two young brothers broke into a gun store and stole 22 guns and multiple rounds of ammunition, but the load was heavier than their arms could carry, Florida police say.

A 14-year-old and his 11-year-old brother dropped the weapons and took off in separate directions as they fled from police at around 3 a.m. on June 8, Cape Coral Police Department Master Sgt. Julie Green said during a news conference.

The older brother kept an AR pistol as he ran but later tossed it, she said.

The brothers broke into Guns 4 Less, a firearm store in Cape Coral, about 10 miles outside of Fort Myers, by cutting off power to the business and forcing their way through a back door, Green said.

They then smashed display cases and “began ransacking the entire business for a total of 22 guns, rifle and handgun magazines, and various calibers of ammunition,” Green said.

After the boys fled, officers found both of them near the scene and accounted for all stolen items, Green said.

On June 7, the day before the brothers were accused of breaking into the store, they had gone in and looked around until the owner asked them to leave, Green said.

The older brother was on probation in connection with robbery with a weapon, burglary and criminal mischief. He had been previously arrested and accused of threatening to harm another juvenile with a weapon over social media.

Both brothers were charged with 22 counts of grand theft of a firearm, one count of armed burglary, one count of criminal mischief over $1,000 and one count each of resisting without violence, grand theft and possession of burglary tools, Green said. The older brother was also charged with one count of violation of probation.

Detectives are working on linking the juveniles to other crimes in the area.

“The arrests prevented a possible critical incident that could have stemmed from these guns being in the wrong hands,” Green said.

This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 12:29 PM with the headline "14-year-old and younger brother steal 22 guns — but drop when too heavy, Florida cops say."