An 18-year-old Lake Nona High School student was arrested Monday in connection with a house party that left four teens injured, including a girl who was dragged under a car for 450 feet, Polk County sheriff’s officials said.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Mateo Pinzon Penagos was arrested in Orlando on charges of burglary with damages over $1,000, criminal use of personal identification and allowing minors alcohol at an open house party.
Recommended Videos
Officials said the party occurred July 22, 2020, in the Cypress Point gated community in Davenport.
Deputies went to the neighborhood after receiving noise complaints, and several teens began to run, authorities said. One of the teens, 16-year-old Ryan Colom of Winter Garden, began driving away in a Kia Stinger and struck four other 16-year-olds who were standing in a driveway, sheriff’s officials said.
One of the victims was dragged under Colom’s car for about 450 feet, and she suffered permanent serious injuries and will likely need more surgeries, deputies said. The other teens suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
“We’re fortunate that our that our female that was drugged 450 feet underneath the car being driven by another 16-year-old fleeing a house party is alive today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday during a media briefing.
Colom was arrested by deputies about 8 miles away, officials said. He faces several charges.
Sheriff’s officials said the vacation home sustained more than $2,000 in damage, and detectives later determined that it was hosted by Penagos.
Officials said the home had been rented via the website VRBO, and records showed that a man from Corpus Christi, Texas was listed as the renter. The investigation determined that man’s personal information had been stolen and the rental was secured using his illegally obtained information.
“There’s a word of caution here,” Judd said. “These companies that rent these houses, need to check out these folks. This is a kid.”
[READ: ‘Our residents are afraid:’ Hundreds gather at Osceola parties to spread COVID-19, sheriff says]
Detectives said they were able to track communication to Penagos’ residence in Orlando. They said they were also able to locate witnesses who saw Penagos with the stolen identification and had first-hand knowledge that he was responsible for arranging the open house party.
“At the very least, open house parties are loud and disruptive to neighborhoods and leave litter and damages behind,” Judd said. “Many times, they get totally out of hand with large fights and shootings. In this particular case, four kids were injured, one of them severely. There were numerous victims in this case and our detectives worked carefully for six months to find the person responsible for creating what turned out to be a horrific evening.”
Penagos was booked into the Orange County Jail.
Colom’s criminal trial is still pending.