The sale of a pair of running shoes turned into an armed robbery and kidnapping in Miramar, but the alleged victim managed to escape.
According to the arrest report, the 18-year-old met Kirk Stewart through social media a week earlier and they arranged a meeting about 4:30 p.m. May 15, to sell Stewart a pair of shoes.
The 18-year-old let Stewart inside the Avalon gated community where the teen lived. The teenager was driving a gray GMC SUV and Stewart was driving a black Honda Accord. They parked near the community mailboxes to complete the shoe sale, the report stated.
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Stewart told the teen to “just get in the car” and he did so, thinking Stewart didn’t want to exchange cash out in the open.
Once the teen was in the Honda, Stewart pulled out a handgun, put it in his lap, pointed the barrel at the teenager and said, “Give me everything,” investigators said.
The teen handed over his cellphone and three pairs of shoes worth a total of $2,700.
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Stewart drove the teen about two miles away to the Miramar Town Center. The area is surrounded by homes, businesses, city hall and the police department.
During the drive, Stewart kept repeating, “I just have to do it.” The teen got out of the Honda before Stewart drove off, police said.
The teen walked to a store and asked to borrow an employee's phone. The teenager called his own phone and begged Stewart for his phone back.
Stewart told him to “call [your] peoples and tell them to CashApp me money.” Then, Stewart texted the teen’s mother and aunt, posing as the teenager, and asked for money.
The teenager called his mother and asked her to send Stewart $150 because he lost a bet. She got her husband to send the money but became suspicious, the report said.
An army recruiter picked up the teenager at the store and took him home. The two had a prior appointment.
Detectives examined surveillance video recorded near the gates of the Avalon community and got the license plate number of the Honda. It was registered to Stewart’s mother.
The teenager identified Stewart from a photographic line-up and Stewart was arrested May 19.
Stewart remains in the Broward County Jail without bond on charges of armed robbery, armed kidnapping and reckless driving, records show.
