LAKELAND, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office said three teenagers were arrested for multiple car burglaries after one of them accidentally shot himself with a gun stolen from one of the cars.
The sheriff's office said the three teenage boys, two aged 14 and one 16-year-old, admitted to the burglaries after they were confronted with evidence.
Authorities said one of the 14-year-old boys was taken to a Tampa hospital after he accidentally shot himself with a gun stolen during one of the burglaries. The shooting happened just after 9 p.m. on Wednesday at a home in the Medulla Oaks neighborhood, just off of Old Road 37.
Deputies responded and during a search of the room where the shooting happened they noticed a woman’s Michael Kors wallet with a woman’s identification card inside, and next to the wallet was a debit car that belonged to another woman. They also found an ammunition magazine behind the bed's headboard.
All of those items were reported stolen during several car burglaries, which happened in Cherry Lake Estates early on Tuesday. That neighborhood is adjacent to the Medulla Oaks neighborhood, authorities said.
After their confession, the boy who lived at the Medulla Oaks home where the shooting happened showed deputies where two stolen guns were hidden near the home, the sheriff's office said.
“Most car burglaries occur to vehicles that are left unlocked, and as a law enforcement officer, that is very frustrating. Even more frustrating is when a firearm is stolen from an unlocked vehicle. Fortunately, the boy should have a full recovery, and hopefully everyone involved has learned some valuable lessons here," Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Two of the boys were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) in Bartow and charged. Authorities said the third boy will be taken to JAC when he's released from the hospital.
The teenagers will face charges that include armed burglary, burglary of conveyance, grand theft of a firearm, conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft, possession of firearm by juvenile, possession of personal identification and petit theft.
ABC Action News is not naming the boys because they are juveniles.
