DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach police on Thursday released bodycam video they say shows officers question a 44-year-old suspect the morning before police say he slashed a teenager’s neck and chased a man with a sledgehammer.
Police say the footage is from Feb. 14 and shows a trespassing encounter that occurred around 8 a.m. that day. Officers issued a trespass warning and did not arrest Jermaine Long during that encounter.
At one point, Long can be heard telling officers, “I don’t have no weapon,” as officers order him to get on his knees before handcuffing him.
“I didn’t threaten nobody,” Long said.
“You were just walking with a hammer, that’s all,” one of the officers can be heard saying.
“I’ve been walking with a hammer for days,” Long said.
Three and a half hours later, police say officers responded to a disturbance at a 7-Eleven near the Boardwalk, where they were told Long chased a man and struck him with a sledgehammer. Officers spoke with Long and the victim and again did not make an arrest, police said, but Long was trespassed from the area.
About 11 hours after the first encounter, police say they were called to 18 South Ocean Ave. following reports of a stabbing near the Slingshot ride.
The victim was a 13-year-old boy, and witnesses provided statements, according to police. Long was arrested, taken to jail and was charged with attempted murder in connection with the throat-slashing case.
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Two days later, prosecutors filed additional charges tied to the earlier hammer incident. A judge ordered Long held under pretrial detention in the sledgehammer case.
Long remains in the Volusia County Jail.