Ocala 16-year-old with rifle inside shirt taken down by deputy at Family Dollar
By: A 16-year-old was taken down at a Family Dollar store in Marion County with a rifle under his shirt after he fled from deputies, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
The incident happened in Ocala on Monday, according to an arrest affidavit.
A deputy was on patrol just before 5 p.m. in the area of Cedar Road and Bahia Road when he came across a white Ford Focus that was reportedly speeding with dark, tinted windows and without a working right brake light. The car "appeared like it was attempting to lose" the deputy, the affidavit said.
That car then turned into the Family Dollar shopping center on SE Maricamp Road and the passenger, later identified as the 16-year-old suspect, got out of the car and ran into the store, deputies said.
Inside the store, the teenager, who the sheriff's office said is considered a delinquent felon under Florida law, tried to lose the deputy, but was eventually found in one of the aisles. Bodycam footage from the sheriff's office shows the take-down in the middle of the store.
The deputy and the teen got into a scuffle that caused a potato chip display to fall over, which revealed an apparent rifle hidden underneath the suspect's shirt, as seen on the video footage.
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"Drop the gun, drop it. Stop playing," the deputy is heard telling the teenager. "Get on the f****** ground!"
The teenager, who is accused of resisting arrest before eventually being detained, was adamant in telling the deputy the gun didn't belong to him.
"That's not my gun, bro," the teen repeatedly told the deputy, as heard on bodycam video.
There's also a backpack that was reportedly found in the car, which had weed inside it alongside individually-packed baggies, the affidavit said.
In a post-Miranda interview with deputies, the teenager said the backpack belongs to him, but the gun doesn't, the affidavit said. His cousin told deputies that the backpack belonged to the 16-year-old.
The teenager is facing several felony charges, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office:
Possession of a weapon or ammunition by a delinquent felon
Possession of a short-barreled rifle
Use/display of a firearm during a felony
Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Possession of marijuana more than 20 grams
Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on an officer
Resisting without violence
He remains in custody without bond.