Florida thieves ambush couple at gunpoint after tracking them with AirTag, police say

Police revealed footage of a home invasion in Florida that saw armed thieves holding a couple at gunpoint after tracking them down with an Apple AirTag this week.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the incident occurred on August 19. Suspects Luis Charles, 26, and Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez, 32, are accused of placing an AirTag under the couple's SUV in order to track them back to their home in Odessa, Florida.

"Suspects forced the victims into their garage at gunpoint before fleeing when an alarm was triggered. Detectives later discovered an AirTag tracking device taped beneath the victim’s vehicle," police said in a statement.

Charles and Maldonado-Rodriguez are charged with armed burglarly, two counts of armed kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment and illegal installation of a tracking device.

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Police released footage of burglars holding a couple at gunpoint in Florida on August 19, 2025. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

"To be ambushed at gunpoint in the very place you should feel safest is every family’s worst nightmare," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "Thanks to the work of our detectives, these dangerous criminals are now behind bars where they belong, and the victims, along with our community, can rest a little 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.

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Police arrested Luis Charles, left, and Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez for holding a couple at gunpoint in Odessa, Florida on August 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)

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Police apprehended Maldonado-Rodriguez on Oct. 10 in Pasco County.