SANFORD, Fla. – The family of a teen whose car was damaged in a confrontation with neighbors of a Sanford community has filed a lawsuit against two of the men arrested.
Jermaine Jones, 16, was driving through the Lake Forest subdivision with another teen June 14 when they were confronted by residents about their speeding through the neighborhood.
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The lawsuit was filed against Howard Hughes and Donald Corsi, the two men who were arrested after a car window was shattered with a stone, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
The lawsuit stems from Hughes’ and Corsi’s “unreasonable, intentional and outrageous actions” toward a minor, the lawsuit says. It was filed on behalf of Jones’ parents, Columbus and Niko Jones, by attorneys Greg Francis and Kevin Edwards.
According to the lawsuit, Jermaine Jones has mentally and emotionally suffered with sleepless nights, a fear of leaving his house and an inability to drive.
“This is an action for damages that exceed $30,000, exclusive of pre-judgement interest, attorney’s fees and the cost of this action,” the lawsuit says.
In June, Jones posted the video of the confrontation on social media. It shows the stone sitting in the backseat, and neighbors can be heard saying, “Get out of this neighborhood. You don’t belong here.”
He told News 6 back in June that he started recording because he feared for his life.
“It didn’t even feel real,” Jones said. “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.”
Jones said the confrontation happened after he was speeding through the gated neighborhood, but he did not think it was justified for the neighbors to throw a rock instead of calling the police.
Jones, his parents and their attorneys, Edwards and Francis, spoke with the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office and called for harsher charges against Hughes and Corsi on July 7.
“We believe that if it is a racial situation that the state attorney’s investigation will show that, but if it’s not, if the evidence does not prove that, we believe that this is a 16-year-old who is going about his daily life, and regardless of what his color is, no group of adults should act this way toward a 16-year-old,” Edwards said July 7.
Corsi faces a property damage charge and a weapons charge for throwing the rock. Hughes faces property damage and battery charges for throwing the cone.