What started as an armed robbery investigation in Deltona, Florida, somehow ended with the robbers, the teenage victim, and even the victim’s father being arrested. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office says detectives uncovered quite a bit more than what was initially reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, a 16-year-old told detectives he was robbed at gunpoint while meeting with 15-year-old Izrell Perez on McClellan Street on July 29. The teen said the driver of a vehicle pointed a firearm at his head while Perez demanded and took his cash.
Perez was arrested at his home the following day and charged with robbery with a firearm. Detectives later identified 18-year-old Clayton Hencken as another person involved, and he was subsequently taken into custody on a charge of robbery with a firearm while masked.
However, investigators say the 16-year-old hadn’t exactly given them the entire story. Detectives learned the teen was already on probation, had violated his curfew to meet Perez, and had deleted text messages that reportedly showed he was attempting to purchase a firearm that night.
Robbery Investigation Takes an Unexpected Turn
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According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, the victim initially told investigators he was meeting an acquaintance when the robbery occurred. The subsequent investigation revealed that the purpose of the meeting was actually to purchase a firearm.
That discovery created another problem for the 16-year-old because he was reportedly supposed to be home under the conditions of his probation. The sheriff’s office said he was arrested Friday and charged with violating his probation for leaving his residence after curfew.
If that wasn’t already enough of a twist, the investigation produced one more arrest. Authorities said the teen’s father arrived at the Family Resource Center to pick him up, only for deputies to discover that the father had an open writ and take him into custody as well.
The sheriff’s office has not released additional details about the father’s writ or identified the 16-year-old because of his age. The charges against everyone involved remain allegations unless proven in court.
Comments Can’t Get Over How Many People Ended Up Arrested
The sheriff’s office’s update left commenters amazed at how an investigation that began with one teenager reporting an armed robbery ultimately resulted in several people being taken into custody. One person compared the situation to Pokémon and joked that deputies had to “catch ’em all,” while another said the story simply kept getting better as it went along.
Much of the attention naturally went to the 16-year-old victim’s probation violation. Several people couldn’t believe someone accused of breaking curfew and attempting to purchase a firearm would report the robbery to police, with one commenter joking that it was essentially a case of calling 911 to report yourself while simultaneously pointing investigators toward other criminals.
The father’s arrest only added another layer to the reactions, with several commenters making “like father, like son” jokes or questioning the circumstances surrounding the family. Others took the situation more seriously, expressing concern about the young ages of those involved and wondering what could be done to keep teenagers from becoming involved in crimes like these in the first place.