It was supposed to be a basketball trip.

Five teenage players from the Washington, D.C., area had traveled to Central Florida with the Run It Up AAU program to compete in the Puma NXTPro tournament. Instead of returning home with trophies, highlights and memories from the court, the boys and their coach are now facing criminal charges over an alleged 4 a.m. raid on a 7-Eleven.

The obvious question is: How did this happen?

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the five players—four 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old—entered a 7-Eleven on Ronald Reagan Parkway in Davenport at approximately 4:10 a.m. Thursday.

Investigators say the teenagers concealed Doritos, gummies, Starburst Minis, a Big Mama sausage, lemonade and grape and orange Slurpees before attempting to leave without paying.

The total value of the alleged haul was $37.60.

When a store clerk confronted them, authorities say the boys ran. Deputies later located three of the teenagers near the entrance to Solterra Resorts, less than a mile from the store. Investigators said the stolen merchandise had been placed in a backpack and hidden in some bushes.

That alone would have been an astonishingly foolish way to jeopardize an expensive basketball trip and potentially derail five young lives.

But the story becomes even harder to understand when the conduct of the adults is examined.

Sheriff Grady Judd said the team’s coach, 27-year-old Malik Abdul Harvey of Bryans Road, Maryland, had arranged for the players to take an Uber to another vacation rental while the adults traveled separately. According to the sheriff, the teenagers arrived before the adults and were left without supervision when they allegedly walked to the convenience store.

Harvey was not accused of entering the store or participating in the theft. His legal problems reportedly began after deputies contacted him and showed him surveillance images of the two players who had not yet been found.

Investigators say Harvey claimed he did not recognize them.

The remaining boys were located later that morning and identified Harvey as their coach. Authorities say Harvey then admitted that he knew who they were and had lied in an effort to protect them.

Protect them from what? Accountability for allegedly stealing less than $40 worth of snacks?

Instead of immediately helping investigators locate the teenagers and making certain they were safe, Harvey allegedly turned a bad juvenile decision into a larger criminal investigation—one that eventually resulted in his own arrest.

The irony is difficult to miss. The sheriff’s office says Harvey works for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, where his responsibilities include assisting and empowering young people. The basketball trip was not connected to that job, but his position makes the allegations against him especially difficult to explain.

Another coach accompanying the team—who is also the mother of one of the players—reportedly took the opposite approach. Judd said she cooperated with investigators and helped identify the remaining teenagers.

“She did the right thing,” the sheriff said.

Each player was charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft, tampering with evidence, petit theft and violating Polk County’s juvenile curfew ordinance. The conspiracy and evidence-tampering counts were filed as third-degree felonies.

Harvey was charged with child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, accessory after the fact and resisting an officer without violence.

These are accusations, and the defendants have not been convicted. Harvey was not accused of planning or joining the alleged theft, and attempts by at least one Washington-area news organization to obtain his response were unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, the incident represents an almost unbelievable collapse of judgment.

Five teenagers were taken hundreds of miles from home for an organized athletic tournament. Parents presumably trusted the adults in charge to supervise them, enforce reasonable rules and set an example. Somehow, the boys were allegedly wandering into a 7-Eleven at 4:10 in the morning without an adult present.

Afterward, the adult expected to lead them allegedly chose deception over cooperation.

A trip intended to teach discipline, teamwork and responsibility instead ended with six arrests, multiple felony allegations and a public humiliation that will last much longer than the Slurpees and junk food ever could.

Sheriff Judd offered his own characteristically blunt conclusion.

“We welcome anyone who wants to visit or stay in Polk County on vacation,” Judd said. “But people need to realize that while you might be able to get away with crimes and foolishness where you live, it won’t fly around here.”

The players may eventually receive another opportunity to demonstrate better judgment. At 16 and 17, they are still young enough to learn from a profoundly stupid decision.

But the more troubling question remains: Where was the responsible adult when they needed one?

Sources: Polk County Sheriff’s Office, FOX 5 Washington, FOX 13 Tampa Bay

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