Five Florida men charged after allegedly robbing man at gunpoint — for $30 vape pen

Five Florida men are facing felony robbery charges after police allege they held up a man walking home from work and stole a vape pen worth about $30.

The robbery happened around 9:36 p.m. Sunday in Winter Haven, according to the Winter Haven Police Department.

Investigators said the victim was walking home after his shift when a pickup truck pulled up beside him and five men jumped out, demanding everything in his pockets.

The victim told the group he only had a cellphone and a vape pen, police said.

One of the suspects allegedly lifted his shirt to reveal a gun tucked into his waistband and demanded the items.

Police said the men searched the victim’s pockets and took the vape pen. They then demanded his cellphone, but the victim refused to hand it over and told them it had a tracker on it.

The suspects then got back into the truck and drove away.

Officers later located the pickup outside a residence, where they spotted several men matching the suspects’ descriptions, according to police.

When the men saw officers, they ran into the residence and initially refused to come out, police said. Authorities eventually detained the suspects after they exited the home.

Investigators also interviewed a 17-year-old girl who was riding in the truck during the incident. According to police, she said she had accompanied her boyfriend and his friends to several stores before they stopped near a cemetery in the area.

The teen told investigators she did not witness what happened outside the truck but heard yelling.

She later saw one of the men return to the vehicle holding a green vape pen and say he had “got the vape,” according to police.

Authorities arrested Damarius Jamel Taylor, 18, of Avon Park; Tayshawn Williams, 18, of Auburndale; Javon Prince Jackson-Roby, 19, of Avon Park; Martice Spears Jr., 19; and Deshawn Antwon Lampkin, 19.

All five men were charged with robbery with a weapon and petit theft, police said.

Taylor was also arrested on an outstanding warrant from Highlands County.

Two 17-year-old girls were also charged with resisting arrest without violence in connection with the investigation, according to police.

One allegedly provided officers with a false birth date, while the other allegedly refused to allow officers into the residence after the suspects ran inside.