Crime & Safety
FL Boy Left With Guns, Cash On I-75; Couple Charged
The Florida couple told the boy they were either going to travel to Idaho or Guam before abandoning him on I-75, media reports say.
NORTH PORT, FL — A 16-year-old boy was left on the side of Florida's Interstate 75 with a .40 caliber handgun, a 9 mm handgun and money by a couple who "told him to fend for himself," media reports say.
North Port Police have arrested Bradley Leon Guerrero Santos, 36, and Roseanella Mendola Borja, 35, in connection with the Oct. 1 incident, the North Port Sun reported.
The teenage boy was seen walking on I-75 near Sumter Boulevard, WFSB reported.
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The incident came after the boy found Santos and Borja hurriedly packing at home, telling him they planned to travel either to Idaho or Guam, media reports say.
The couple was arrested about fours after the boy was found in downtown Wauchula and were eventually transferred to the Sarasota County Jail, reports say.
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Jail records on Thursday showed Santos is facing charges of child neglect without great bodily harm and parent/guardian allowing unlawful possession of a firearm.
There were no jail records for Borja, but the North Port Sun reported she was charged with neglect.
The relation between the boy and the couple are unknown.
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