Armed home invasion ends with runaway teens caught without clothes, Florida cops say

Two 16-year-old runaways are suspects in a terrifying home invasion in Florida that ended when they were caught without clothes hiding under a dock, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened Sunday, May 7, at a home in Crystal River, the sheriff’s office said in news release. Crystal River is about 80 miles north of Tampa.

The suspects, Ryan Wainwright and Cameron Ingram, collectively face more than a dozen charges, officials said. Wainwright had been reported missing by his family April 17 and Ingram went missing May 3, according to a Facebook post.

“Upon arrival, one of the victims told deputies that they heard a noise coming from the bedroom. When they went to inspect the noise, they saw two unknown individuals — one of which was armed — in the hallway,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Wainwright demanded the keys to the victims’ vehicle while Ingram pointed a gun at another resident who was sleeping. Once Ingram obtained the keys, he gave them to Wainwright, who then exited the residence to start the vehicle.”

The victim made two attempts to escape, but was ordered by Wainwright “to sit on the couch” and surrender any cell phones, officials said.

After the two teens drove away in the stolen car, the victims made their way to a neighbor’s home and called 911, officials said.

Deputies located the vehicle “shortly after” and a chase resulted in the driver “crashing into the woods.”

“Both suspects exited the vehicle and fled into the woods on foot. CCSO’s Air Unit was deployed to assist in locating the suspects, who were subsequently spotted in a nearby river,” the sheriff’s office said.

”The Air Unit observed both suspects exit the river, remove their clothes, and make another attempt to hide. Additional units responded to the area and converged on both sides of the river, where they located both suspects hiding under a floating dock.”

Wainwright is charged with home invasion robbery (with a firearm), false imprisonment; grand theft auto; grand theft of more than $750 less than $5,000; battery on a person 65 years of age or older; resisting a law enforcement officer without violence and fleeing and eluding law enforcement, officials said.

Ingram’s charges include home invasion robbery with firearm; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; grand theft auto; grand theft of more than $750, less than $5,000; resisting a law enforcement officer without violence and leaving the scene of an accident, officials said.

Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast identified both teens as runaways. Wainwright had been reported missing twice this year, the first time on Feb. 23, officials say.

“These two juveniles ran away from their home, caused us to spend valuable time and resources looking for them, and then turned to unconscionable felony behavior towards innocent citizens,” Prendergast said in the release.

This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Armed home invasion ends with runaway teens caught without clothes, Florida cops say."