13-year-old threatened to shoot up Burger King during robbery in playpen, police say

A 13-year-old with a BB gun allegedly robbed a boy Sunday afternoon at the playpen in a Burger King restaurant and threatened to shoot everyone inside, according to testimony Tuesday in Columbus Recorder's Court.

The teen, who was charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty to armed robbery and terroristic threats. He was ordered held without bond in the Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus police were called to the Burger King at 4126 Buena Vista Road around 4 p.m. Sunday to investigate an armed robbery. The 12-year-old victim said he walked to the restaurant with his three friends.

He said they were in the playpen when a boy dressed in black and red jacket with blue jeans approached him along with about five other children. The victim told the group that they tried to “jump him” at school, according to police.

The victim said that's when the suspect pulled a black and silver handgun out of his pocket and demanded his cellphone. The victim handed his phone over and started to back away.

That's allegedly when the teen threatened to shoot the 12-year-old and everyone in the restaurant.

Officer Kertavious Coppins said the suspect and the other boys left with the cellphone. The victim, who wasn't harmed, walked home and told his father about the incident.

The father told authorities that the suspect’s father called him from the stolen phone and agreed to meet at the Steam Mill Food Mart to return it. Officials went to the location, where they found the suspect and his father.

Police called the victim's mother to the scene, and she confirmed that her son did own a BB gun that matched the victim's description of the weapon.

"She has told him not to carry it, because she had a fear that he could get harmed," Coppins testified.

Officials took the suspect into custody. He told police he was at the Burger King playpen area when the victim and his three friends started arguing with him. He initially stated that he didn't have any type of gun during the incident.

The teen said he asked to see the victim's phone and the 12-year-old handed it over, Coppins testified. He reported that he told the group he didn't want to fight and left.

Coppins said the 13-year-old later admitted to withdrawing the BB gun, but he denied aiming it at anyone. Officials found the weapon.

Coppins said the teen actually used the BB gun during the armed robbery, but it was one of the most realistic looking weapons he has seen.

"It had artificial weight," he said. "The top actually looked and felt like metal. When cocked back, you could see the barrel. The only real indicator that I had when I first looked at it was that the magazine didn't look correct."

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "13-year-old threatened to shoot up Burger King during robbery in playpen, police say."