A West Palm Beach teenager who dreamed of becoming a barber walked into what he thought was a routine house-call haircut at Okeeheelee Park South and instead found himself surrounded by an armed group of as many as 13 people, according to investigators. Six people have now been arrested in the case after two more suspects were taken into custody, and detectives say more arrests could still follow.
The ambush unfolded shortly after midnight on May 31, according to WPBF, at Okeeheelee Park South near Forest Hill Boulevard. Investigators say the teenage aspiring barber was lured to the park through what looked like a legitimate haircut request, after the suspects allegedly used Instagram to arrange the meeting. Per WPEC, the group had planned the robbery for several days, according to a probable-cause affidavit cited in the outlet's reporting.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators allegedly showed suspects arriving at the park before the victims did, handling firearms and then hiding in the woods, according to Palm Beach and Broward Mugshots. Investigators say the suspects emerged from the woods and attacked once the victims arrived, holding one victim at gunpoint while the teenage barber was tackled and beaten. The group then allegedly robbed the victims of an iPhone, glasses and more than $1,000 worth of barber equipment, per the same report.
Clippers, a Phone and a Speaker Taken in the Ambush
Per WPEC's account of the case, the stolen barber equipment was valued at about $1,200. Previously arrested suspect Josue Jesus-Mejia told detectives that suspect Diaz struck the teen in the face with the butt of a gun and took the box containing the barber's clippers. Jesus-Mejia also said two other suspects admitted to him that they had hit the victim, according to that statement.
A PBSO K-9 team later recovered the victim's stolen iPhone along the escape route inside the park, according to CBS12. Detectives say Jesus-Mejia identified suspects Funes and Diaz in surveillance photos, helping tie names to the group that investigators say gathered at the park ahead of the attack. After the robbery, the group allegedly went to a Papa John's on Military Trail, per WPEC's report.
Charges Against the Latest Arrests
Edwin Funes Cartagena and Jan Marcos Diaz Cruz were arrested in West Palm Beach in connection with the Okeeheelee Park armed robbery, according to WPEC. Both face two counts of robbery with a firearm, the outlet reports, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to six.
That six-arrest figure follows a series of earlier updates that had reported smaller numbers. WPBF had reported that four suspects were arrested as the investigation continued, while a Spanish-language report from CBS12 said the number detained had risen to five following the arrest of a suspect identified as Simon Sebastian. The dossier reviewed for this story does not clarify whether the six arrests reported by WPEC represent all of the people named in earlier reports or reflect additional, later arrests.
Investigators Still Piecing Together a Larger Group
Investigators estimated that between 10 and 13 suspects were involved in the ambush overall, according to WPBF's earlier reporting, and detectives have said they identified several other people they believe were involved, per WPEC. Investigators leaned on the recovered phone along with social-media communications, cellphone information, surveillance footage and license-plate-reader records to build the case, according to Palm Beach and Broward Mugshots.
One detail that emerged from the investigation, per WPEC, is that suspect Diaz was allegedly robbed himself about two weeks before the ambush while trying to sell a firearm, according to investigators. The dossier does not connect that earlier incident to a motive for the park ambush beyond that single detail. The investigation remains ongoing, and the same outlet notes that further arrests are possible.
Under Florida law, robbery committed while carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment, according to Florida Statute 812.13. The identities and roles of several people named across various reports on this case, including Diaz and others, have not been independently confirmed against arrest affidavits or official court records.
