Polk County teens arrested in St. Augustine Beach for robbery

Three varsity football players and two Lake Gibson High students robbed a 16- and 12-year-old with a 12-gauge shotgun in St. Augustine Beach on Tuesday, authorities say.

The five teenage boys got out of a car and stopped the two youths who were walking near 115 A1A Beach Blvd. about 1 a.m., according to the St. Augustine Beach police.

Christopher Dewey, 17, Quinshon Odom, 18, Anthony Fernandez, 17, Umbuju Grant, 17, and Remi Watson, 17, are all students at Lake Gibson High School, Polk County Schools Athletic Director Don Bridges said.

Odom, Grant and Watson were all on the school's varsity football team, Bridges said. Fernandez was on the team in 2008 but lived in Wisconsin most of this season; he recently returned to school at Lake Gibson.

"I know it's an embarrassment to Lake Gibson High School, to the football coach," Bridges said. "But this is not an indication of the type of kids we have at Lake Gibson and the type of athletic program we have at Lake Gibson. These were kids that unfortunately made some bad decisions," Bridges said.

Here's what happened, according to police:

Dewey stepped out of the red 2005 Nissan Titan pickup truck with a single-barrel, 12-gauge shotgun in hand and told the pedestrians to empty their pockets and put their cell phones on the ground. As one of the other Lake Gibson teens got out of the car to pick up the items, a car started to head toward the scene, so the group of teens sped off.

A St. Johns County sheriff's deputy saw a car that matched the description and, with the help of a police detective, pulled the car over with the teens, items and shotgun inside.

The teens were arrested on charges of armed robbery and possession of stolen property and taken to the St. Johns County Jail.

The news of the arrests has students talking, said Lake Gibson junior Jared Wright.

"Of course it's going to make the school look bad; I guess you can't really worry about it too much,'' Wright said.

Wright, who was about to board a bus for a tournament game against Lakeland High, said he heard about the students' arrest on the bus Tuesday on the way back from a tournament game in Sebring.

Odom was on Lake Gibson's basketball team until he was suspended for cursing at a referee after a recent game, Bridges said.

He said he hopes the arrests don't affect his fellow athletes, like Watson, next year.

Watson, a junior, rushed for 1,410 yards on 180 carries and had 15 touchdowns for the Braves this season. As a receiver, he caught 19 passes for 314 yards and six touchdowns. He also threw for two touchdowns while completing 9-of-18 passes.

Watson's best all-around game came against Eagle Lake's Lake Region on Oct. 23. In that game, in which Lake Gibson was a 51-14 winner, he rushed for 121 yards on 12 carries and had three touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

"I hope Remi comes back because he's got a big career ahead of him, but I just hope this doesn't ruin his career for him, put a blemish on his record, because he's an amazing football player.''

Bridges said if the students make bail, they will be allowed back to school, but the principal will decide whether they can take part in extracurricular activities like sports.