Bradenton police are asking for the public's help finding two teenagers wanted in connection with a home-invasion robbery reported on October 13. Officers identified the suspects as 17-year-old Jakai Smith and 18-year-old Johnnie Lee Schoolfield III, while a third person connected to the case is already behind bars.
The Bradenton Police Department announced the search in a post on X, writing that it was seeking Smith and Schoolfield as suspects in a home-invasion robbery that occurred on October 13, according to the Bradenton Police Department
. The department said a third suspect in the case is already in custody, though it did not identify that person or detail the charges against them.
Police have not released where the robbery took place, what was taken, or whether anyone inside the home was hurt during the incident. Those details were not included in the department's public appeal, which focused instead on tracking down the two remaining suspects.
How to Help Investigators
Anyone with information on Smith or Schoolfield's whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Reduction Team Officer Sam Ottman at 941-875-6297, per the department's post. The department's account, which it describes as its official channel, noted that the page is not monitored around the clock, so tipsters with urgent information should instead call 911 or the department's non-emergency line.
A Similar Case From 2023
Bradenton has dealt with comparable home-invasion cases before. In one prior case, police said 37-year-old James Flowers Jr. allegedly entered a home in the 400 block of Cantabria Trail with two other suspects on March 3, 2023, ransacking the residence and stealing jewelry, cash and a cell phone, according to bradenton.com. Police said two adults and three children were inside the home at the time of that robbery.
Flowers was eventually tracked down outside the area. He was taken into custody in Tampa by the U.S. Marshals Service in January and later transferred to the Manatee County Jail, as reported by Patch. That case illustrates how home-invasion investigations in the area can stretch on for months before every suspect is accounted for.
It remains unclear whether Smith or Schoolfield have retained attorneys or whether any charges have formally been filed in the October 13 case. For now, Bradenton police are relying on the public's help to locate the pair while the investigation continues.
