Suspect: GPS unit sends friends to wrong place for pot deal
December 4th, 2008 by Ana X. Ceron
Franceso Ciccia
Richard Santos
Joseph Tete
Alleged plans to score marijuana unraveled for three friends after an apparent case of bad directions leave the three behind bars and a 66-year-old man with bruises.
Brothers Christopher and John Boyle told St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputies they were at their business in the 2100 block of N.W. Settle Avenue in Port St. Lucie when two men walked in Wednesday afternoon and said they were from Canada and were lost.
The brothers told deputies that John Boyle was looking up driving directions on the Internet when he was hit across the face. He was also hit with a metal pipe in his legs and torso, they said. Meanwhile, another fight involving 66-year-old Christopher Boyle also broke out, a sheriff’s report states.
The two men then fled the business but were later found by the intersection of Orange Avenue and Interstate 95.
Ontario resident Joseph Tete told deputies that he and two friends had gotten an address in Port St. Lucie where they were told they could purchase marijuana. The group used a GPS unit, which led them to the Boyles, according to the report.
Franceso Ciccia, 20, waited outside while Tete, 22, and Richard Santos, 22, went to buy the pot, deputies said.
Once inside, Tete and Santos asked for the marijuana, which angered the Boyles and an argument ensued before the fight broke out, Tete said. Tete said he used the pipe as a weapon after someone had put him in a headlock.
Tete told deputies that their GPS unit hadn’t been working properly and likely led them to a wrong address.
All three men face misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to purchase marijuana. Tete, 22, faces an additional charge of aggravated battery, and Santos, also 22, a charge of battery on a person older than 65.
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December 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I don’t care WHO you are, this is funny…. eh?
December 4th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
That is way to funny. It was that damn broken GPS… eh
December 4th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
It is funny except, you know, for the violence against a 66 year old man. A metal pipe!? I hope Tete gets 15 years. These clowns are no good.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Do we need any further proof for what marijuana does to the brain? It may not be a “gateway” drug as some say (yeah right), but it certainly makes you stupid!! Stupid enough to do other drugs!!
December 6th, 2008 at 10:01 am
It’s unfortunate the Boyle’s didn’t have access to a gun. The headlines should have read, “assailant shot and killed after attacking 66 year old”.
December 13th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Pretty idiotic arguement Will. How does your (ignorant) statement about cannabis prove that it leads to other drugs?
Violent criminals wielding metal pipes will still be that way
with or without marijuana. Grow up.