LAKELAND, Fla. — Three teens were arrested on attempted murder charges after being linked to three drive-by shootings in unincorporated Lakeland.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that the three teens — a 17-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old — were arrested after the latest drive-by shooting, which occurred just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The shooting took place outside a home in the area of Chestnut Road and West Parker Street in an unincorporated area of west Lakeland.
During their investigation, detectives learned the shooting was connected to two other drive-by shootings, committed by the same three teens, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Nine bullet casings were found at the home Thursday; the shooting damaged a car parked at the home and the mailbox. No one was hurt in any of the related shootings, detectives said.
All three teens were identified as having "ongoing issues" with the targeted victim and his friend, the sheriff's office said. The victimized teen said he and his friend stopped associating with the other teens and that decision "didn't sit well with them."
The victimized teen reportedly told detectives his friend was also the target in two drive-by shootings, one on Aug. 9 and the other on Sept. 20. Both of those drive-by shootings were already under investigation, detectives said.
The victimized teen also reportedly told investigators he recently got threats from the accused shooters via text messages and social media.
The investigation eventually led investigators to find one of the guns believed to have been involved in the shooting at one of the suspected teen's homes. Another gun used is still being looked for, the sheriff's office said.
Detectives said they arrested the three teens for all three drive-by shootings and charged them each with the following crimes: Attempted 2nd-degree murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, shooting from a vehicle, shooting in a residential area, improper exhibition of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a person under 18 and culpable negligence.
The 16 and 17-year-old arrested are brothers, the sheriff's office said. 10 Tampa Bay is not identifying the teens due to their ages.
“While investigating this shooting, our detectives found that it was linked to two other drive-by shootings," Judd said in a statement. "The same three suspects were out there putting innocent lives at risk, motivated by revenge—in essence because their feelings were hurt that the victims didn’t want to be around them anymore. And of course, there was some social media drama thrown in there as well. They wanted to act like some big bad-boys, and now they’re charged with big bad-boy crimes."
