DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 44-year-old man was arrested on allegations of violently attacking a juvenile Saturday night in Daytona Beach.
The random attack happened around 10:05 p.m. on South Atlantic Avenue, just south of Main Street, in Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach police said the victim, whose age has not been released, suffered a severe neck laceration and was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center. The child’s condition has not been released.
Police said officers were called to the area after receiving a report that “someone slashed a person’s throat with an edged weapon.”
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An arrest affidavit stated that police interviewed three witnesses, and the victim’s mother wanted to press charges.
Jermaine Lynn Long, of Daytona Beach, was located near an overpass on the pier next to Joe’s Crab Shack and was taken into custody, police said.
During a police interview, Long invoked his right to speak to an attorney, according to the affidavit.
Long was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The charges against Long represent his fifth felony case in Volusia County, according to county records, which also show he has been charged in five misdemeanor cases.
The charges include failure to properly register as a sex offender and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The aggravated assault case stemmed from Jan. 14, when a Volusia County Sheriff’s deputy who was doing patrols in the area of South Atlantic Avenue observed Long “wielding an approximate 8-foot-long wooden pole attempting to strike” two people.
One of the alleged victims told the responding Daytona Police officer that Long approached them and accused them of harming his family.
“He noted that Long brandished a silver-colored bladed weapon, describing it as a small kitchen knife,” the officer wrote in the Jan. 14 report.
The other alleged victim said he tried to intervene, prompting Long to retrieve the pole.
In a court filing dated Feb. 10, though, an assistant state attorney wrote that prosecutors would no longer pursue the earlier charges against Long. The filing does not provide any reason for prosecutors dropping those charges.
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