A Florida teenager is facing multiple felony charges after authorities say he staged an elaborate scene to make it appear he had been shot and abducted, triggering a massive search and investigation.
On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes Detective Jason Williams arrested 17-year-old Caden Speight following an investigation into the September 25 incident. Speight is charged with Presenting False Evidence, Shooting into a Conveyance, Making a False Report of a Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Minor.
The bizarre chain of events began on September 25 when MCSO deputies responded to the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon. Speight had texted his family claiming he had been shot, with his Life360 app pinpointing the location. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the truck Speight had been driving, but he was missing.
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The scene suggested foul play: investigators found what appeared to be a bullet hole in the windshield, suspected blood splatters, Speight’s destroyed cellphone, drag marks, and bicycle tracks leading away. A large-scale search involving multiple agencies was immediately launched.
However, MCSO detectives soon determined the entire event was a hoax. The investigation concluded that Speight had intentionally fired a gun into his own vehicle, used a mixture of blood he had sourced—following online searches on his laptop about “how to collect blood without causing pain”—and destroyed his own phone.
He then fled the area on a bicycle, equipped with camping gear recently purchased from Walmart. An eyewitness corroborated seeing the teen riding away on a bike.
Further digging into Speight’s background revealed he had previously expressed a desire to run away, and his online searches included terms related to “Mexican cartels.”
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The deception ended the following day. On September 26, Williston Police Department officers located Speight at a residence on West Noble Avenue in Williston. He was found with a handgun and the bicycle used to flee the scene. Despite his predicament, authorities say Speight continued his deception even as he sought medical treatment for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg, which had shattered his femur.
Following the completion of the investigation, MCSO detectives obtained a warrant for Speight’s arrest. He was subsequently taken into custody and transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The motive for the elaborate staging remains under investigation.
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