PORT ST. LUCIE — A spectacular case of poor criminal planning played out late Wednesday afternoon inside the western regional police station.

A couple of boys, ages 12 and 14, tried to rob two employees behind a protective window, demanding cash, before being handcuffed at gunpoint by about a half dozen officers.

"They were either very brazen or very dumb, but I think the latter," Officer Robert Vega, police spokesman, said.

The incident happened about 4:30 p.m. at the Rosser Boulevard station after the boys, one dressed in blue and the other red, walked through the glass doors. The 12-year-old sauntered to the records counter and then proceeded to another counter where he picked up a phone to talk to a service aide behind a protective window, demanding her money.

"Not only did he pick up the phone and say, 'Put your hands up and give me your money,' he had his hand in his jacket insinuating that he had a gun," Vega said.

The boys each face an attempted armed robbery charge.

Although only the 12-year-old demanded money, the other boy also is being charged in connection with the incident because he "knew what was going to happen," Vega said.

"He was a willing participant in the entire event," Vega said.

The 14-year-old also faces a violation of probation charge.