After a complaint, a teen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon...
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OKEECHOBEE — A local teen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit after his neighbor called to complain about kids shooting at her home. On May 26 at approximately 11:45 p.m., Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Devon Satallante was dispatched to a home in the 6800 block of Southeast 86th Boulevard.
When Satallante arrived, the complainant told him there were four juveniles wearing black clothing hanging out next door. She said she believed they were smoking illegal narcotics and were shooting some type of gun toward her residence.
Satallante went next door to speak with the teens. As he approached, he reportedly saw one of them hide a pellet gun under a vehicle next to them in the yard. He noted he could smell a strong odor of marijuana in the air. He also noted a half empty whiskey bottle and cans of Twisted Tea in the area. He asked them if they had been smoking marijuana and drinking, but they all said no. The deputy knocked on the door in an attempt to speak to the father of one of the boys, but no one answered the door.
The teens claimed they were shooting at a target in the general direction of the neighbor's home but were not aiming at her home.
When Satallante asked the teens if he could search them, three said yes, and he found nothing illegal on them. The fourth, identified as 18-year-old Samuel Belcher, reportedly refused to be searched and asked permission to go inside the trailer to get his father.
Satallante explained to Belcher that he had the right to refuse a search but would still have to be patted down for everyone’s safety. He was told if he did not comply, he would be arrested and charged with obstruction.
According to the report, Belcher continued to refuse and tensed up grabbing the arms of the chair he was sitting in. Satallante and a second deputy were able to get him out of the chair. A .40 caliber S&W handgun fell out of his waistband as he was being subdued.
Belcher was charged with obstruction without violence and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. His bond was set at $6,000.
