8 Philly Teen Football Players Learn that Florida Actually Arrests Alleged Shoplifters

Eight teenagers, all youth football players from Philadelphia, have found out the hard way that Florida doesn't mess around with shoplifting.

Not only have all eight been hit with charges, but unlike Pennsylvania and surrounding states, the Sunshine State releases the names, ages, and pictures of teens who have allegedly broken the law.

Philly Youth Football Players Arrested in Florida

According to the Polk County, FL, Sheriff's Office, this past Saturday morning, deputies responded to a Dick's Sporting Goods store in their jurisdiction for a report of retail theft in progress. The store manager contacted them after allegedly observing multiple juveniles concealing merchandise.

Deputies arrived within minutes and detained eight suspects.

Officers say they reviewed surveillance footage and "observed the two groups of suspects enter the store separately and then act together to commit theft." The juveniles were identified as follows:

• Daimon Johnson, 15
• Mark Bryan, 15
• Ibn Mahdee Abdul Haqq, 14
• Elijah Myers, 14
• Tymir Speller, 15
• Marcus Hudgens, 15
• Tymir Smith, 14
• Jacob Scott, 15

Per a Florida state statute, information about juveniles charged with felonies is public record. Their pictures are included in a press conference video below.

Surveillance Footage Allegedly Shows Coordinated Shoplifting

The sheriff's department released the following account:

The eight suspects were formed into two separate groups: Johnson, Bryan, and Abdul-Haqq were inside Dick’s walking around looking at merchandise. The second group – Hudgens, Myers, Speller, Smith, and Scott, then entered the store, and Hudgens made a purchase near the front of the store. He met up with the rest of the suspects in the middle of the store with his Dick’s Sporting Goods bag, and the other suspects proceeded to place merchandise inside of it. Johnson, Bryan, and Abdul-Haqq took the bag, passed all points of sale, and walked out of the store, where they were detained by law enforcement. Abdul-Haqq had stolen merchandise inside of a black backpack, and Bryan had the bag from the store with over $2,000 worth of stolen goods inside. The other five suspects were located and detained inside of the store. Speller had a beanie concealed inside his pants.

Items Worth Over $2200 Recovered

The total value of stolen merchandise was confirmed to be nearly $2,300. Some of the nearly four dozen items that were allegedly stolen are as follows:

• Nike Men’s Club Fleece Hoodie, $49.98
• Under Armour Men’s Unstoppable Fleece Hoodie, $110.00
• Nike Women’s Swift Repel Packable Running Jacket, $125.00
• (2) Nike Adult Vapor Jet 8.0 Football Gloves, $50.00
• Shock Doctor Warheads Flavored Max AirFlow Lip Guard, $25.99
• (2) Nike Adult D-Tack 7.0 Football Gloves, $70.00
• Jordan Fly Lock 2.0 Football Gloves, $60.00
• Adidas Adult Scorch Destroy Full-Finger Football Gloves, $45.00
• Under Armour Men’s Unstoppable Fleece Hoodie, $110.00
• (2) Nike Men’s Tech Fleece Jogger, $115.00
• Nike Men’s Dri-Fit Unlimited Tapered Joggers, $80.00
• (2) Nike Men’s Tech Fleece Full-Zip Windrunner Hoodie, $135.00
• Shock Doctor Max AirFlow Jolly Rancher Flavored Lip Guard, $25.99
• Battle Sports Doom Speed Football Glove, $49.99
• Jordan Men’s Flight Cotton Core Boxer Briefs, $31.87
• Nike TF Pro Hyperwarm Handwarmer, $38.00

The teens were identified as members of a Philadelphia youth football team, the United Thoroughbreds, who were in Polk County participating in a tournament. The team's coach, 29-year-old Raekwon Bynes of Philadelphia, responded to the store and confirmed that the teens were scheduled to play later that day, which they did not, since they were arrested.

All eight declined to provide statements to authorities. None of them has a prior criminal arrest history, according to the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center.

The octet was transported to a juvenile assessment center and charged with retail theft over $750 and conspiracy to commit retail theft.

Sheriff Grady Judd Delivers Blunt Message

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who has a national reputation for being a no-nonsense, blunt law enforcement officer, said in a statement,

These juveniles were not from Polk County, they came here from Philly for a football tournament, and instead of representing their team with pride, they chose to steal - they are Thoroughbred thief's. Let this be clear: it doesn’t matter if you’re from here or visiting, if you break the law in Polk County, you will be arrested and held accountable.

His press conference video about this case has had nearly 150,000 views in under 24 hours.

The public is reminded that charges are accusations and all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Chris Coleman, a South Jersey native, is the brand manager for WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM and afternoon on-air personality on WPUR Cat Country 107.3 in Atlantic City, NJ. He joined the station in February 1998 and covers news, events, and stories of interest across Southern New Jersey for Townsquare Media. Story tips can be sent to chris.coleman@townsquaremedia.com .