Hannah Parry, Daily Mail, June 28, 2017

Six teenage boys, aged between 14 and 16, are accused of stealing a Porsche and $200,000 during a Florida burglary – before blowing the cash on gold jewelry and teeth, and high end cars for themselves and their mothers.

The teens; Rural Scott, 15, Jeremiah Laplace, 15, Michael Bush, 14, Joshua Sargeant, 14, Shomari Smith, 14, and Walter Walker, 16, all from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were charged with burglary and grand theft this week.

A St. Lucie County Sheriff’s report said the group, who each have a long rap sheet despite their young ages, were all in custody in other jurisdictions in connection with other crimes when they were arrested Monday following a two-month investigation.

The investigation began after Brett Browning, of North Hutchinson Island, Florida, reported a break-in at his home on April 27.

He told police he returned home to find his garage door open and his 2014 Porsche Cayman – worth $50,000 to $60,000 – was missing.

When he went inside, he found his safe was missing containing his life savings – more than $200,000 cash – along with his .380-caliber Ruger pistol and a revolver.

The group later confessed to the police that they had already spent the cash on flashy jewelry, gold teeth and cars for themselves. Several of them also splashed out on cars for their mom and other relatives.

One of the teens claimed that he used his share of the money to buy mom an $80,000 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and his brother a $25,000 2009 Mercedes C300.

He also bought gold teeth for $11,000; a gold chain for $10,000 and a gold bracelet for $3,500.

A second teen said that he bought himself a four-wheeler and gave $40,000 to his mom.

A third teen said he purchased a new Audi A4 for his mother and a fourth teen said that he had been robbed of his share of the loot while in Fort Lauderdale.

As for the guns, one of the teens reportedly threw them into a garbage can at a mall in Fort Lauderdale.

Scott, who has been arrested on no fewer than nine occasions since June 2015 for burglary, grand theft, grand theft auto, and criminal mischief charges, told investigators he had called his mother ‘and told her about ‘hitting’ the house’ they burglarized.

His mother, Shanika Shorter, responded to police report, by telling Sun Sentinel reporters: ‘Do you believe everything you hear?’ before hanging up.

Cops arrested one of the teens just two weeks after the burglary after they discovered the abandoned Porsche in Delray Beach, which had documents belonging to the boy.

The other five were swiftly arrested and all but one of the six confessed to their part in the Browning burglary.

Fingerprints of the teen who denied being involved in the theft were later found on the stolen SUV used to drive to Browning’s house, police said.

During an interview with investigators, one of the teens said that he and ‘his boys’ came up with the house robbery plan while they were gathered at a motel in Pompano Beach, Florida, a short distance from their Fort Lauderdale hometown.

They then stole a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV and drove about two hours north, to North Hutchinson Island, where they proceeded to knock on doors to determine whether anybody was at home.

One of the teens interviewed by authorities said that when nobody answered at Browning’s house, three of the group entered the home through an unlocked backdoor, sometime between noon and 3pm.

The police report detailed that one of the teens took a safe from the kitchen, while another one took the guns off a table in the living room.

They then drove off in Browning’s Porsche and the SUV, heading south and rendezvousing at a service station in Fort Pierce, where they opened the safe and discovered cash in Ziploc bags.

St. Lucie County Sheriff’s officers said they found the empty safe later that day.

‘It’s clear through the interviews with these thugs that they intentionally targeted our community, searched out a house in an affluent neighborhood and stole their life savings,’ Sheriff Mascara said in a statement.

All six teens were charged with burglary of a dwelling while armed, grand theft over $100,000, two counts of grand theft of a firearm, and grand theft of a motor vehicle. They are being held at the St. Lucie County Jail.

Each has a long arrest record, including Laplace who has been arrested 14 times starting since he turned 14, for charges including grand theft, robbery by sudden snatching, grand theft auto, burglary, grand theft of a firearm and criminal mischief.

Bush was first arrested age 13 last year for burglary, petty theft and has since been picked up for charges including burglary, larceny and grand theft charges.

Both Sargeant and Smith have also faced similar charges during their multiple arrests in recent years, while Walker has also faced charges of cocaine possession and destroying evidence.

Two of the teens are being held without bond, while the other four have bonds ranging from $210,000 to $250,000.

The Palm Beach Post reports that the teens have not been charged as adults.