A teen in Florida was arrested this week and for allegedly faking a crime scene, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It started with a text the 17-year-old sent to his family.
In the text, Caden Speight told his family that he had been shot. Data from Life360, a company that offers location services, showed that his last location was the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon, Fla. Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the scene on Sept. 25 to find a truck Speight had been driving, but the teen was nowhere to be found.
“A vast amount of MCSO resources and personnel, along with numerous other law enforcement agencies, were deployed to search for Speight and collect evidence at the alleged crime scene,” said the sheriff’s office.
“Evidence” found at the scene included a bullet hole through the vehicle windshield, suspected blood, Speight’s severely damaged cellphone, drag marks in the dirt, and bicycle tracks leading away from the truck. However, further investigation indicated that Speight himself had fired the shot, then splattered a mixture of blood in the truck and destroyed his own cell phone.
Authorities said that Speight then fled the area on a bicycle while toting camping supplies he purchased at Walmart just before reporting the alleged incident. An eyewitness said they saw him leaving the area on a bicycle.
As the investigation continued, local detectives learned that Speight had previously mentioned running away from home. On his laptop, they found ChatGPT searches about collecting blood without causing pain and about Mexican cartels.
Officers with the Williston Police Department located Speight the day after he went missing during a call for service at 727 W Noble Avenue in Williston. He had a handgun in his possession when he was found, as well as the bicycle. Still, he tried to continue his ruse – he even had an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg. That wound shattered is femur and required medical treatment, per the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.
Following the investigation into the incident, a warrant was issued for Speight’s arrest. Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes Detective Jason Williams arrested Speight Tuesday for: Presenting False Evidence, Shooting into a Conveyance, Making a False Report of a Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Minor. Upon his arrest, Speight was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center.
Audacy has reported on teen arrests in Florida before, including a 17-year-old who allegedly beat his mother with a frying pan and a 14-year-old who allegedly beat her grandmother to death.