Overview

• Marion County deputies arrested the 17-year-old on Tuesday and transported him to the Department of Juvenile Justice on four counts: presenting false evidence, shooting into a conveyance, making a false report of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
• An AMBER Alert went out Sept. 25 after the teen reported being shot and abducted; he was found the next day in Williston with a handgun and a bicycle.
• Investigators say he intentionally shot himself in the leg, shattering his femur, and later received medical treatment.
• Crime-scene findings later deemed staged included a bullet through the truck’s windshield, suspected blood, a destroyed cellphone, drag marks, and bicycle tracks leaving the area.
• Detectives cite Walmart purchases and surveillance video, plus online searches — including ChatGPT queries about collecting blood and Mexican cartels — while the sheriff noted a large, multi-agency response to the reported incident.