Five teenage basketball players from Maryland and Washington, D.C., all aged 16 to 17, are accused of stealing $37.60 worth of snacks from a Florida 7-Eleven store, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspects were members of Run It Up, a travel basketball program affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Union. Their coach works for the Department of Juvenile Services at Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in Maryland, where his responsibilities include assisting and empowering youth.
The team was participating in the Puma NXTPro basketball tournament and staying at a Solterra Resort vacation rental less than a mile from the convenience store on Ronald Reagan Parkway in Davenport, Florida. Officials reported that the teens concealed items such as Doritos, gummies, Starburst Minis, a Big Mama sausage, lemonade, and grape and orange Slurpees during the incident.
The theft occurred Thursday around 4:10 a.m., when the suspects fled after a clerk confronted them about the thefts.
