PALM COAST, Fla. – A teenage girl is accused of stealing dozens of vape pens from a Flagler County smoke shop then trying to sell them on Snapchat with the help of two men.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, a juvenile in a mask quickly approached the counter inside Jaguar Smoke and Vape II on Tuesday and quickly grabbed a display containing approximately 65 vape pens valued at $649.35.
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“Employees believed that the suspect came into the store a few days ago with a friend and stole a small amount of merchandise,” investigators said.
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The storeowner told deputies they wanted to pursue charges, so authorities shared images of the suspect to help investigators identify him.
The next day, FCSO was made aware of a person advertising the stolen merchandise for sale on Snapchat. The pens were being sold in a Staples parking lot in Palm Coast.
Once at the parking lot, deputies met a 16-year-old girl and 20-year-old Jamel Brown. Both agreed to talk to deputies at the Palm Coast District Office.
Upon further investigation, authorities identified a third subject, 19-year-old Nicholas Alo.
All three subjects were interviewed and deputies said they gave full confessions after being read their rights.
“When (the teenage girl) was taken into custody, she was found to be in possession of 39 nicotine vapor pens that were stolen from the Jaguar Smoke and Vape II store,” deputies said. “Nicholas confessed to having an additional six vapor pens in his bedroom and allowed law enforcement to collect them.”
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly commended the deputies as well as the community for helping authorities catch the burglars.
“Unfortunately for these subjects they didn’t take into account that we would utilize security technology, social media and other deputies to identify them,” Staly said. “I am happy that we were able to return some of the stolen merchandise to the owner. I also thank the community for sending in your tips and reporting suspicious activity. Remember if you see something, say something which, as you can see from this case really works.”