OKALOOSEA COUNTY, Fla. — A quick-acting father and an alert neighbor helped thwart an attempted kidnapping and armed home invasion robbery Tuesday night in Florida, according to police reports.
Alerted by his 17-year-old daughter, the 51-year-old homeowner in Baker grabbed his gun and fired three shots at four intruders outside his garage, forcing them to flee into the woods, the Palm Beach Post reported. A neighbor gave police a description of the vehicle the suspects were spotted in, and it was stopped nearby, according to a Facebook post on the official Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office page.
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Deputies arrested four Crestview teens: 19-year-old Keilon Johnson, 17-year-old Austin French, 16-year-old Tyree Johnson and 15-year-old Kamauri Horn. They allegedly were armed with a knife, guns and a roll of tape for an apparent kidnap attempt. Inside the SUV, deputies also found gloves, masks and dark clothing, according to the police report.
The plot went awry from the beginning, when the 17-year-old girl ran into a roadblock of barrels on her road while driving home. But she simply drove around them, then reported it to her father. The suspects told police that they believed the father is wealthy.
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When the suspects approached the house, the homeowner was tipped off by his dogs barking and his motion-activated flood lights. When he heard his car door closing, he retrieved his gun, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The four defendants were charged with attempted kidnapping and attempted home invasion robbery. Johnson was in the Okaloosa County Jail, while the others were sent to a Department of Juvenile Justice facility, the police report said.
Mugshots: Arrest photos from Palm Beach County
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