Bullied No More: Young Robbery Victim Speaks Out

They knew who he was.

"You're that kid from Sulphur Springs that can't fight."

Royale McCoy-Green knew the two older boys, too. They were bullies from his former school.

The 11-year-old was riding his self-propelled Spark scooter — a blue-wheeled gift from his mother last Christmas — on the afternoon of March 13 when the two older boys confronted him near the corner of Seward and Semmes streets.

They taunted him, punched him, knocked him down and kicked him. When they finished beating him, they took his shirt, his New York Yankees ball cap and the scooter. Royale didn't fight back.

After they left, Royale walked home, bruised, scraped and feeling like he didn't matter.

"It made me very sad and like I'm not important," he said.

When the boy got home, Royale told his mother what happened. He showed her his scrapes.

Reeshema McCoy-Green called the police to report the robbery, but she was half expecting that not much could be done about it. After all, her son's attackers were kids, too.

"I was horrified to see what was done to my son, because I told him not to be a violent person but to always be respectful, and he always has been," McCoy-Green said. "To see someone take advantage of him, that was totally uncalled for and it hurt me real bad."

To the mother's surprise, the Tampa Police Department took what happened to her son seriously.

Very seriously.

Major John Newman, who commands Tampa Police District 2, said that when he saw the incident report the following morning it really upset him. Newman said it became his mission to get the case resolved quickly.

Detective Greg Van Heyst interviewed Royale, who he said was able to identify the attackers through school yearbook photos from Seminole Heights Elementary.

"What really caught our attention was how violent it was," the detective said. "It's disturbing that 11- and 12-year-olds are doing this to another kid."

Within three days of the incident, two suspects were arrested and charged with strong arm robbery and booked into the Juvenile Assessment Center. They were later released back to their parents.

Van Heyst said the parents of the suspects had "mixed reactions" to the allegations.

For Royale's mother, there was only one reaction: gratitude.

"I didn't think they would pay a whole lot of mind to what had happened because it was a random act of violence," McCoy-Green said. "Sometimes we don't take bullying as serious because it's kid versus kid.

"But I see that they are taking it seriously and I'm very proud of them," she said. "Nobody wants to see their child mishandled or mistreated, even if it's something done by another child. So, I'm glad they took it seriously. It restored my confidence in the police and in our community."

For Royale, the response of the police was also heartening. On Thursday, he was asked to share his story with other children at the RICH House, a safe haven community center in Sulphur Springs that serves children and families with after school programs.

At the gathering, Detective Van Heyst and Tampa Police Officers Steven Cragg and Jason Lindemann presented Royale with a Tampa Bay Rays hat, a Buccaneer's hat and a new Spark scooter — identical to the one that was stolen from him.

Royale's message to other kids who find themselves being bullied: "Tell an adult you've been bullied. Tell an adult, a teacher, your parents."

And for the boys who beat him up and took his scooter, Royale smiled and said: "You're in big trouble now!"