A Bryans Road man who works at a Maryland youth detention facility was arrested in Florida last week after five teenage players on the AAU basketball team he coaches were accused of stealing snacks from a Davenport, Florida, 7-Eleven — and he initially told investigators he couldn’t identify two of the boys involved.
Malik Abdul Harvey, 27, of Bryans Road, was charged with child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, accessory after the fact and resisting without violence, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Harvey coaches for Run It Up, a Washington, D.C.-area AAU travel basketball program, and was in central Florida with the team for the Puma NXTPro basketball tournament when the theft occurred.
According to the sheriff’s office, the team was staying at a Solterra Resorts vacation rental less than a mile from the 7-Eleven at 3141 Ronald Reagan Parkway when five of the players walked to the store around 4:10 a.m. on July 23 and took items including Doritos, gummies, Starburst Minis, a “Big Mama” sausage, lemonade and Slurpees, valued in total at $37.60. A store clerk confronted the group, and they ran from the store, according to investigators.
Deputies who responded located three of the suspects near Solterra’s entrance after the teens stashed the stolen goods in a backpack and hid it in bushes, the sheriff’s office said. A detective then contacted Harvey and showed him security footage, asking him to help identify the remaining two suspects; Harvey told investigators he didn’t recognize them. When deputies located the final two teens later that morning, both identified Harvey as their coach — at which point, according to the sheriff’s office, Harvey admitted he had lied about not knowing them in an effort to protect the boys.
Sheriff Grady Judd, who has built a reputation for pointed public statements about visitors accused of crimes in Polk County, addressed the arrests directly. “We welcome anyone who wants to visit or stay in Polk County on vacation,” Judd said. “But people need to realize that while you might be able to get away with crimes and foolishness where you live, it won’t fly around here. If you steal in Polk County, we’re going to send you home with a commemorative mug shot from the Polk County Jail.” Judd also said publicly that another coach on the trip cooperated fully after learning her own son was among the accused teens, contrasting her response with Harvey’s.
The five teenage suspects — 17-year-old Tavion Rashaud Hale and 17-year-old Tyjuan Grover, both of Washington; 16-year-olds Taureon Darnell Ferrell and James Thomas Hall, also of Washington; and 16-year-old Obai Sankoh Sheriff of Lanham, Maryland — were each charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft, tampering with evidence, petit theft and violating Polk County’s juvenile curfew ordinance, according to the sheriff’s office.
Harvey is employed by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in southern Prince George’s County, where, according to the department, staff work to support and supervise young people in the juvenile justice system. The sheriff’s office said the basketball trip was unrelated to Harvey’s job duties with the state agency. The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services has not publicly commented on Harvey’s employment status following the arrest.
The Cheltenham facility, located near the Charles County line, is one of several state-run juvenile detention and committed-youth facilities operated by the Department of Juvenile Services, which oversees secure and non-secure placements for young people involved in Maryland’s juvenile justice system across the state. Harvey’s arrest on charges including child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor is notable given that his day job involves working directly with at-risk youth in state custody.
The arrests drew wide coverage from Washington-area outlets given Harvey’s Southern Maryland ties and the teens’ D.C. hometowns, as well as attention in Florida, where Judd’s sheriff’s office frequently publicizes arrests of out-of-state visitors accused of crimes as a deterrent message to tourists.
It was not immediately clear from available records whether Harvey or any of the teens had retained an attorney or entered pleas in the case. As with any pending criminal matter, all individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
