Four firefighters were arrested in January after a JSO officer noticed paintball marks on his patrol car, leading to the discovery of an interagency “prank war.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Misdemeanor charges against three of the four JFRD firefighters arrested for their part in a paintball “prank war” have been dropped following the completion of pre-trial intervention programs, according to Duval County court records.
The four firefighters were arrested in January and each charged with one count of criminal mischief for their part in the “prank war” between JFRD fire stations.
According to court records, all four pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were accepted into pre-trial intervention programs that would allow the charges to be dropped upon completion.
One firefighter completed his program and saw his charge dropped March 10, while two others completed their programs March 18, seeing their charges dropped.
 The fourth firefighter has not yet completed his program as of March 19, according to court records. His charge will be dropped upon completion.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, an officer in the LaVilla neighborhood noticed “multiple impacts” on his patrol vehicle, which were determined to be green paint splatters. Another driver reported that their vehicle had been marked similarly.
When responding officers arrived on scene, they stated that they had noticed green paint along the road. It was determined that the paint had come from “a high-velocity launcher at an elevated location.”
Officers say that they “quickly” noticed firefighters entering a fire station on North Jefferson Street and West Duval Street. Upon being interviewed, the firemen stated that there was an “ongoing ‘prank war’ between fire stations,” which the sheriff’s office describes as a possible cause of the incident.
Upon investigating the fire station, JSO claims that 14 red and green paintballs were found on the roof of the fire station, as well as recently washed paintball shells.
JSO says that on Thursday, Jan. 22, the four firefighters were identified and warrants for their arrests were obtained. They were arrested that Friday, Jan. 23, and booked into the Duval County Jail shortly afterwards.
According to JSO, the firefighters were reassigned to “administrative duties” pending an internal JFRD investigation. In an update Tuesday, Jan. 27, a JFRD spokesperson told First Coast News that another member of the fire department has been reassigned in connection to the incident, but were not taken into custody.
First Coast News reached out to JFRD for an update on their internal investigation and any possible further administrative action, and will update this article when they reply.