A summer basketball trip took an unexpected detour into the back of a patrol car for a Washington D.C. area AAU team after a middle of the night snack run went sideways at a Florida 7-Eleven. Five teenage players from the Run it Up basketball program, along with their coach, were arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office following a theft investigation that started with candy and Slurpees and ended with felony charges.
The team was in Central Florida for the Puma NXTPro tournament, staying at a Solterra Resorts vacation rental just up the road from the Davenport convenience store where it all went down. Anyone who has ever chaperoned a group of teenagers on a trip knows that keeping snacks in the house is basically a losing battle. Apparently these five decided the house pantry wasn’t cutting it and made their way to the 7-Eleven instead, at around 4:10 in the morning, which is a curious hour for a Slurpee craving, but we don’t make the rules.
What they walked out with wasn’t exactly a heist for the ages. We’re talking Doritos, gummies, Starburst Minis, a Big Mama sausage, lemonade, and a couple of Slurpees in grape and orange. The grand total came out to $37.60, which is roughly what a family of four spends on movie theater popcorn these days. Small dollar amount or not, Florida law doesn’t grade theft charges on a curve for effort.
Here’s how the whole thing unraveled, and why a coach’s attempt to smooth things over ended up making his night a whole lot longer.
The Snack Run That Wasn’t
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a store clerk noticed the group concealing merchandise and confronted them. Rather than sticking around to sort things out, the suspects bolted from the store. That is usually the moment a minor situation stops being minor, and this case was no exception.
Deputies responding to the area found three of the suspects close to the entrance of the Solterra Resorts community, not far from where the team was staying. Before deputies caught up, the group had stashed the stolen items in a backpack and tucked it into some bushes, presumably hoping it would just disappear into the Florida landscaping.
It didn’t.
Said one Facebook comment: “All the trouble these six are now in over $37 worth of junk food. What were they thinking??? Good job, Sheriff Judd and the deputies.”
The Coach’s Story Doesn’t Hold Up
A detective tracked down the team’s coach, 27-year-old Malik Abdul Harvey of Bryans Road, Maryland, and asked him to help identify the two suspects still unaccounted for using security footage. Harvey told deputies he didn’t recognize them.
That story fell apart later that morning when the last two players were located and admitted Harvey was in fact their coach. Harvey subsequently confessed he had lied to protect them, which did not go over well with investigators.
Charges Pile Up for Players and Coach
All five players, ages 16 and 17, were charged with Conspiracy to Commit Retail Theft, Tampering with Evidence, Petit Theft, and violating the county’s juvenile curfew ordinance. Coach Harvey faces his own separate list, including Child Neglect, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, Accessory After the Fact, and Resisting Without Violence.
Notably, Harvey works for the Department of Juvenile Services at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, where his job involves guiding at risk youth. Authorities confirmed the basketball trip had no connection to his professional duties there.
So the teens shouldn’t have stolen stuff from the store and the coach shouldn’t have lied but all of those charges are insane. How about a $200 fine the store is made whole and they learn a lesson there was just a white guy in his early 20s who raped two children who got no jail time.