SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Two men are facing charges after a pair of teens said they were attacked and threatened while driving through a neighborhood in Sanford.
According to an arrest report from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the men hit the rear-passenger door with an orange cone and shattered the window with a stone.
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The 16-year-old driver, Jermaine Jones, posted video of the confrontation on social media, which is now going viral.
Video shows the teen’s encounter with a group of neighbors in the Lake Forest subdivision after his car was damaged. In an interview with News 6 Thursday, Jones said he started recording because he feared for his life.
“It didn’t even feel real,” said Jermaine Jones. “I actually had to take my shirt off because I had glass all over. The backseat, there’s glass everywhere. My friend had glass all over him too.”
The video shows the stone sitting in the back seat, surrounded by shards of glass. Neighbors can be heard saying, “Get out of this neighborhood. You don’t belong here.”
Deputies later arrested Donald Corsi and Howard Hughes, according to Seminole County court records. Corsi was charged with property damage and a weapons charge for throwing a “missile” into a vehicle. Hughes also faces a property-damage charge, along with battery. According to an arrest report, one teen was hit in the stomach with the cone.
Jermaine Jones admits the confrontation happened after he was speeding through the gated neighborhood Tuesday on the way to visit a friend’s house.
“When we got into the neighborhood we turned onto the street. I guess the people that lived on that street, they didn’t like the way I turned the corner,” Jermaine Jones said.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said surveillance video from a neighbor’s home is now part of their investigation. It appears to show Jermaine Jones peeling out, with a passenger hanging out of the window.
“I can admit when I’m wrong,” Jones Jermaine said. “I was speeding a little bit, but either way, I don’t think it was justified for them to throw a rock through my car rather than just call the police.”
The teen’s mother, Niko Jones, said her son called her and told her what happened while she was cooking dinner Tuesday night. She said her heart dropped.
“My son could have gotten seriously hurt,” Niko Jones said. “They threw a boulder, a brick, at a moving vehicle.”
Niko Jones said she would like to see additional charges filed in the case.
“There are kids, I was told, who speed through that neighborhood all the time, but they are not of his color. So I’m pretty sure that all of this happened because my son is Black,” Niko Jones said.
The arrest report obtained by News 6 shows there were two teens in the car — Jermaine Jones and his friend, who is White.
News 6 reached out to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and asked if race is a factor in their investigation.
A spokesperson said they believe this was initiated by Jermaine Jones’ speeding. They are consulting with the State Attorney’s Office, which will decide if any additional charges should be filed.
Court records show Corsi and Hughes have both bonded out of jail and will appear in court for an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 16. News 6 reached out to both men for comment, but our attempts to speak with them have been unsuccessful.