A D.C. police cadet has been booted from the academy over armed robbery involving a pair of pricey sneakers.
According to charging documents from the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office, the cadet, Christian Alexis Santos, 19, of D.C., is accused of taking part in an armed robbery in North Bethesda, Maryland, on March 25, targeting a Facebook user selling a pair of Jordan 12 sneakers.
The seller claimed he arranged to meet a Facebook user who went by “Christian Santiago” outside his apartment building at 10:30 p.m. on March 25 and met the buyer, who had cash in hand.
Once the masked person began examining one of the shoes, the seller said, a gun came out. He then told police that he handed over the other shoe “fearing for his life,” and the robber ran off.
The seller said after the robbery, the Facebook user “Christian Santiago” deactivated his account, reopening it days later. That is when police began examining pictures and the phone number associated with the Facebook account and linked it to Santos.
Investigators say that phone records put Santos in the area at the time of the crime.
Santos was arrested May 10, telling police that he didn’t commit the robbery but that he did drive the getaway car. He claimed the man with the gun was his friend, Christian Feliz-Mendez, 18, also of D.C.
Feliz-Mendez was already in D.C. police custody at the time of Santos’ arrest for a robbery he’s accused of committing in Northwest D.C.
At the time of his arrest, Feliz-Mendez, according to detectives, was wearing the stolen sneakers. Feliz-Mendez’s phone records also put him in the area of the Montgomery County robbery at the time of the crime.
Both teens are facing numerous charges, including armed robbery. D.C. police said Santos has been terminated from the police academy program.
The cadet’s arrest was first reported by WTOP’s news partner NBC Washington.
