Sentences handed down

The Golden-Collum Memorial Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is shown in Ocala. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

The teenager who law enforcement alleged faked his own abduction and shot himself in the leg as part of a ruse that triggered an AMBER Alert has been adjudicated guilty of several charges related to the case.

The sentencing for Caden Speight, 17, included a one-year house arrest and an order to pay the Marion County Sheriff’s Office $24, 435.76 in restitution.

The case began when Caden texted his family on Sept. 25 that he was abducted by four men in a van in the 12800 block of Southwest County Road 484, a message that Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods labeled as “false, made up,” according to a Sept. 26 “Gazette” report.

“Woods stated that investigators learned Caden had purchased a bicycle, tent and camping gear prior to the alleged abduction reports,” the report stated.

Caden was arrested Oct. 14 and charged with “tampering with physical evidence, false report of commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a minor and discharging a firearm in public,” according to the State Attorney’s Office for the 5th Judicial District.

“The defendant pleaded no contest, was adjudicated guilty and placed on (one year) house arrest with an electronic monitor. Adjudicated guilty of the firearm offenses. Must perform 100 hours of community service; must take a firearm safety class; DL suspension (six months) (and) intensive counseling; ordered to pay back the MCSO their requested investigative costs,” an SAO statement indicated.

The statement also listed “evidence based intervention program to address criminogenic needs (and) other fines and court costs” as part of the sentencing.