Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said five teenagers from the Washington, D.C., area and their basketball coach will go home with “commemorative mug shots” after the teens stole from a Davenport 7 Eleven and the coach lied to deputies to protect two of them.
“If you don’t take care of your children and keep them under control, then not only are we gonna hold them accountable, but we’re gonna hold you accountable, too,” Judd said. “Well, here’s your sign.”
The teens are members of Run it Up, a travel basketball program affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Union. Their team was in the area for the Puma NXTPro tournament. According to Judd, the coach arranged for them to take an Uber to an Airbnb late at night. No adult was there yet because their flight out of D.C. had run late. At about 4 a.m. on July 23, the five teens walked to the 7 Eleven at 3141 Ronald Reagan Parkway in Davenport and stole Doritos, gummies, Starburst Minis, a Big Mama sausage, lemonade, and grape and orange Slurpees totaling $37.60.
After a store clerk confronted them, they fled. Deputies located three of the suspects near the entrance to Solterra after the group put the stolen items in a backpack and hid it in the bushes.
When deputies showed Coach Malik Abdul Harvey photos of all five teens from the security video, he denied knowing the remaining two. He resisted and misled investigators. He later admitted he had lied to protect them. Harvey was arrested and charged with child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, accessory after the fact, and resisting without violence.
Judd noted that Harvey works for the Department of Juvenile Services at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in Maryland. Another coach, the mother of one of the teens, identified the remaining suspects and fully cooperated.
The five teens were each charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft, tampering with evidence, petit theft, and violation of the county curfew ordinance for juveniles. They are identified as 17-year-old Tavion Rashaud Hale of Washington, D.C.; 16-year-old Taureon Darnell Ferrell of Washington, D.C.; 16-year-old Obai Sankoh Sheriff of Lanham, Maryland; 16-year-old James Thomas Hall of Washington, D.C.; and 17-year-old Tyjuan Grover of Washington, D.C.
Judd made his position clear: “I don’t know what y’all do in Washington, D.C. But it must be crazy. But you’re not gonna come from all around the country and steal in this county without going to jail. That’s a promise from the sheriff.”
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