DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two 14-year-olds were arrested for armed carjacking Wednesday in Daytona Beach. Police say one teen put a shotgun right in his victim's face and that may not be the only crime the kids committed.
The carjacking happened last month at a car wash on Nova Road in Daytona Beach (see map), but police arrested the teenagers Wednesday.
Police stumbled onto a key piece of evidence to make the arrests. That piece of evidence was a sawed-off shotgun and Daytona Beach police believe it may have been used in a string of robberies within the last few weeks.
"I was more upset that they would use a gun to take my car," victim Amanda Deavers said.
Wednesday afternoon, the woman carjacked at Crystal Car Wash in Daytona Beach still didn't want to be on camera, even after learning the two baby-faced suspects were in custody. Daytona Beach police have charged 14-year-olds Kemira Jackson and Anthony Lee in connection to the case.
Amanda Deavers told WFTV she thought the person holding a sawed-off shot gun in her face was a grown man, but nothing surprises her anymore.
"The way that things are, the way kids are coming up, it doesn't," she said.
"It's a sad commentary that the two 14-year-olds think, to get a kick out of life, you have to do carjacking," Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood said.
Police got a break while investigating an unrelated crime. Police said someone handed off a sawed-off shotgun to 12-year-old Kenneth Douglas. He's the little brother of Kemira Jackson and he also happens to be the suspect in a carjacking at Halifax Medical Center.
"This is one of the rare cases where we had a parent who said, 'Enough is enough,'" Chitwood said.
The mother of Douglas and Jackson brought them to the station for questioning. She didn't want to speak with WFTV.
Investigators said Kenneth Douglas was the passenger in a bait car stolen from Daytona Beach police. They said the driver was carjacking suspect Anthony Lee.
"It's just utterly amazing, but we see it over and over again," Chitwood said.
There have been 19 juvenile arrests in just the last 13 days in Daytona Beach. Deavers can take some comfort in knowing the suspects in her case have been charged.
South Daytona police are also looking at possibly charging Jackson and Lee for a carjacking at an Arby's in their city.