Two SLO County Teens Arrested in Arizona in Cryptocurrency Extortion Scheme
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - Two teens from San Luis Obispo county were arrested in Scottsdale Arizona, accused of a home invasion in a plot to steal millions in cryptocurrency.
Investigators say these teens were recruited for this shocking crime online.
One of the teens lives in SLO and attended San Luis Obispo High School, the other lives in Morro Bay.
The teens told Arizona authorities after their arrest that the two had only just met.
Ari Parker lives in Scottsdale Arizona.
At first, he didn't think much of a blue car in the background of his ring camera footage from Saturday.
“I had no idea they were connected to the crime that happened here,” says the Arizona resident.
Just down the street, SLO county teens Jackson Sullivan and Skylar Lapeille, disguised as delivery drivers, allegedly forced their way into a home.
Investigators say they violently restrained two adults, and demanded 66 million dollars in cryptocurrency.
A third resident managed to call police.
“The police work was really impressive,” says Parker. “They were pounding the pavement doing old school gumshoe police detective work, knocking on doors, letting neighbors know what was happening.”
The teens fled and, after a pursuit, hit a dead end and were arrested.
Once in custody, the teens told Arizona authorities they had only just met each other.
“Many of them [neighbors] have lived here for 15, 20 years, and they mentioned that this is the first time they could remember something like this happening,” says Parker.
Unidentified characters known as “Red” and “8” allegedly sent Sullivan and Lapeille messages on the app “Signal,” telling them to go to Arizona with funds to purchase supplies so they could pose as delivery drivers.
“It's certainly eye opening, and it's also incredible the way that different pieces of evidence will be pieced together,” says Parker.
Officials at San Luis Obispo High School have confirmed that Jackson Sullivan was a student.
From what we can gather online, he played sports and wrote articles for the student newspaper.
The teens are being held in Arizona and will be charged as adults on multiple felony charges including kidnapping, burglary, criminal impersonation, and felony flight.
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