LAKELAND, Fla. — Two high school students in Lakeland were arrested Wednesday after attempting to break into a gun store two days earlier, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrested the 17-year-old and the 14-year-old after the attempted break-in was caught on camera. That footage led authorities to identifying them.
The boys can be seen standing outside of the store around 1:50 a.m. on Monday. They use a hammer to smash the front glass of the store, then the alarm sounds and they run away.
Now, the 17-year-old faces charges for attempted burglary structure, conspiracy to commit burglary structure and criminal mischief. He has no previous criminal history.
The 14-year-old faces the same burglary charges and an additional charge for violating probation. He was previously arrested for burglary, criminal mischief and probation violation, according to the sheriff's office.
"These young men are facing felony charges for attempting to break-in to a gun store, which is a very serious offense," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Thankfully, the alarm did its job-along with steel security bars at the door-and no guns were stolen. Our detective did a good job linking Mr. Harrison's jacket to where we could find him. We also credit the store owner's security system and steel-reinforced storefront."
