Officials released a repeat offender in Volusia County, Florida, days before he allegedly stabbed a 13-year-old boy in the neck on Valentine’s Day, according to records and local reports.
The Clarke family was walking down the Daytona Beach Boardwalk about 10 p.m. Feb. 14 while returning to their hotel from the Daytona International Speedway when a man walked up to the boy, Sullivan, and allegedly slashed his throat, according to Fox 35. Court records revealed that the suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Jermaine Long, was a repeat offender. (RELATED: Illegal Alien Kills Teacher While Fleeing From ICE)
Sullivan’s mother said she saw the alleged attack happen and originally thought the suspect had only been trying to steal her son’s phone. “As soon as he slashed him, I yelled, and I said ‘Hey!’” she told the outlet.
Sullivan’s father told Fox 35 that they could see deep into their son’s wound. Doctors alleged that if the cut had gone only a millimeter further in, Sullivan would have died.
Sullivan said he thinks his life was only saved because he had turned his neck to look up at a ride on the pier at the right moment, as the alleged blade would have cut his windpipe or a major artery instead of the side of his neck, according to Fox 35.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – OCTOBER 6: A view of the empty Daytona Beach Boardwalk, October 6, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Long, described as a homeless man, allegedly used a box cutter for the attack, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal
County inmate records show authorities arrested Long, a black man, on eight different occasions since 2022. Long was last released four days before the alleged stabbing after being charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to records.
Other charges include failure to properly register as a sex offender, petit theft, possession of paraphernalia and battery. Records show that Long is now charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Three days after Long’s last release and the day before his alleged stabbing of Sullivan, Daytona Beach Police Department Chief Jakari Young released a video statement addressing allegations that the department had been over-policing black and brown communities.
“Our officers do not police based on race or ethnicity; we police behavior,” Young, a black man himself, said. “Our enforcement efforts are guided by calls for service, documented complaints, crime trends and direct requests from residents who want their neighborhoods to be safe and peaceful.”
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.