Authorities have unveiled video evidence of a frightening home invasion in Florida, where armed robbers targeted a couple using an Apple AirTag to track them down. This chilling event unfolded earlier this week, leaving the community on edge.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detailed that this alarming incident took place on August 19. Suspects identified as Luis Charles, aged 26, and Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez, 32, allegedly attached an AirTag to the couple’s SUV, tracing their journey back to their residence in Odessa, Florida.
In a statement released on Facebook, the sheriff’s office explained, “The suspects compelled the victims into their garage at gunpoint, only to flee when an alarm went off. Following the incident, detectives found an AirTag tracking device affixed beneath the victims’ vehicle.”
Charles and Maldonado-Rodriguez now face multiple charges, including armed burglary, two counts of armed kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment, and the unlawful installation of a tracking device.
Captured footage from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows the burglars threatening the couple at gunpoint during the August 19 home invasion.
In response to the ordeal, Sheriff Chad Chronister stated, “Being ambushed at gunpoint in your own home is every family’s worst nightmare. Thanks to the diligent work of our detectives, these dangerous individuals are now in custody, allowing the victims and our community to breathe a bit easier.”
Footage shows the couple beginning to exit their vehicle in the driveway as the two suspects run up to each side of the SUV.
They then force the couple inside the home, where an alarm soon triggered. Both suspects then fled the scene.
Police arrested Luis Charles, left, and Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez for holding a couple at gunpoint in Odessa, Florida, on Aug. 19, 2025. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Police apprehended Charles on Oct. 8 in Tampa, Florida. Upon booking Charles, police placed a notification to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the New York Post.
He was also hit with an additional charge of sexual battery by a familial or custodial authority on a person between the ages of 12 and 18.
Florida police arrested Louis Charles during a traffic stop in Tampa on Oct. 8, 2025. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Police apprehended Maldonado-Rodriguez on Oct. 10 in Pasco County.
