Two Cape Coral teenagers are facing robbery charges after police say they snatched an iPhone directly from a seller's hands during an arranged Facebook Marketplace meetup, then shoved him as they fled. Investigators say 17-year-old Leptune Prinville and 15-year-old Noah Felissaint were later picked out by the victim and a witness and taken into custody following the daylight confrontation at a Waffle House along one of the city's busiest corridors.
According to WINK News, the seller had arranged to sell the phone — valued at roughly $400 — through Facebook Marketplace, with the meeting set at the restaurant at 4642 Del Prado Boulevard South, identified by Waffle House as location #2192, a 24-hour eatery. One suspect grabbed the iPhone straight from the victim's hand and pushed him in the chest before running off with an accomplice on foot.
Suspect Descriptions Led Police to an Orchid Boulevard Home
The victim chased after the suspects but lost sight of them nearby, prompting him and witnesses to give officers detailed descriptions, per the same report. One suspect was described as a taller Black male with dreadlocks, while the other was described as a mixed-race male with facial piercings and dreadlocks partially dyed blonde.
Patrol officers traced the pair to a nearby residence on Orchid Boulevard, where they detained three juveniles matching the descriptions. Of the three, only Prinville and Felissaint were arrested, after the victim and a witness positively identified them during show-up identifications at the scene; both were charged with robbery by sudden snatching. Cape Coral Police Department Violent Crimes Unit detectives responded to lead the investigation.
Teens Sent to Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center
Prinville, born Nov. 8, 2008, and Felissaint, born April 4, 2011, were transported to the Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center in Fort Myers — the county's central intake facility for juvenile arrestees — according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Under state juvenile justice procedures, minors booked into an assessment center undergo a Detention Risk Assessment Instrument screening within 24 hours to determine whether they stay in secure detention or are released to a guardian pending court proceedings, according to Tad A. Yates Law.
What Florida Law Says About Robbery by Sudden Snatching
Robbery by sudden snatching without a firearm or deadly weapon is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 812.131(2)(b), punishable by up to five years in state prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine. The charge ranks as a Level 5 severity offense under the state's Criminal Punishment Code, while sudden snatching involving a firearm would elevate the offense to a Level 7 felony carrying up to 15 years — a distinction not at issue here, since neither teen has been accused of carrying a weapon.
Not Cape Coral's First Marketplace Meetup Gone Wrong
This isn't the first Cape Coral online sale to end in a scramble. In March 2026, Cape Coral police arrested 18-year-old Jayden Everett on a grand theft charge after he allegedly grabbed $15,000 worth of gold jewelry and ran off during an arranged Facebook Marketplace meeting at a Cape Coral residence, according to the Cape Coral Police Department. Following that case, the department urged residents to conduct online sales in well-lit public spaces or designated safe exchange zones, bring a companion, and trust their instincts.
Hoodline has tracked a broader run of similar cases across Florida in recent months, including a Miami Marketplace iPhone bust and, just days earlier, a Lee County chain-snatching arrest that carried the same sudden-snatching charge now filed against Prinville and Felissaint.
Experts Warn Marketplace Meetups Carry Growing Risk
Nationally, peer-to-peer marketplace scams and meetup thefts are among the fastest-growing shopping fraud risks, according to cybersecurity guidance from NordPass, which urges sellers never to hand over an item before payment is secured. Some departments have gone further and set up safe exchange zones — lobby areas or parking spaces under 24-hour video surveillance — as neutral meeting points, as seen in Lenexa, Kansas. Fairfax County police separately recommend verifying buyer profiles, keeping all transaction messages on the platform, and meeting during daylight hours to lower the risk of an ambush, per the county's public safety guidance.
It remains unclear whether the iPhone was recovered from the Orchid Boulevard residence, whether the third juvenile detained in the case faced any charges, or whether prosecutors intend to seek adult charges against either teen — details that were not addressed in the initial report.
