MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Caden Speight, 17, was arrested Tuesday by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on charges including presenting false evidence and possession of a firearm by a minor after staging a crime scene in Dunnellon on Sept.25.
Speight allegedly texted his family claiming he had been shot, prompting a large-scale search by law enforcement. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Speight had fired a shot through his own truck’s windshield and fled the scene on a bicycle with camping supplies, Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
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Deputies responded to the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon after receiving the report from Speight’s family on Sept. 25. Upon arrival, they found the truck he had been driving but no sign of Speight. Crime Scene Technicians found a bullet hole in the windshield, suspected blood, and Speight’s damaged cellphone.
Drag marks and bicycle tracks were also observed leading away from the vehicle. Further investigation revealed that Speight had staged the scene by splattering a mixture of blood in the truck and destroying his cellphone before fleeing on a bicycle, the sheriff’s office said. Speight was later found by Williston Police Department officers with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, a handgun, and the bicycle still in his possession.
Initial details about the disappearance came from Speight’s mother saying her son texted her stating he’d been shot and kidnapped by four Hispanic men in a light-colored van.
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