16-year-old student carjacked at Seminole High School; 2 teens arrested

SANFORD, Fla. – Two students carjacked a 16-year-old classmate at knifepoint Monday at the Seminole High School 9th Grade Center, according to police.

Sanford police said Jaelin Jackson, 18, and Jordan Green, 17, were arrested on several charges, including carjacking with a weapon, robbery, aggravated assault and battery. 

According to police, the 16-year-old said he was approached by two classmates in the parking lot of the school at 21 Lakeview Drive. The teens asked the boy if he wanted to buy some drugs, but he refused, police said.

As the 16-year-old opened his car door, one of the teens grabbed a pocketknife from the door pocket of the victim's vehicle and forced the boy into his car, police said. The teens also got into the car, one in the front and one in the back, and told the victim to "drive them to the hood" while holding the knife to his throat, according to a police report.

Police said the victim knew there was a store at the corner of Georgia Avenue and 25th Street that had security cameras, so he pulled into the parking lot of the Shahan Foodmax Inc. and tried to roll the windows down in an effort to capture the culprits on video, police said.

The teens, however, rolled the windows up, and the victim parked in front of the entrance near a fuel pump, police said.

The teens told the victim to drive away, but he refused, and Jackson held the knife to the victim's neck and said he would slit his throat and kill him, according to police.

The teens put the victim in a chokehold while robbing him and punched him in the face, police said.

The victim was eventually able to escape, grabbing the keys out of the ignition in the process, police said. He ran into the store and asked employees to call 911.

The teens ran off but were later positively identified as Jackson and Grren and arrested, according to police.

Sanford police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett lauded the victim for keeping his poise in a dangerous situation.

"Throughout the entire process, he remained calm. He made a mental note to remember the faces of the suspects to try to place them there," Gillett said. "We are so thankful the victim had the courage to remain calm, and his actions led investigators to more swiftly take the suspects into custody."

The extent of the victim's injuries was not released.

Parents with students at Seminole High School were not informed of the crime.

"Parent notification is something that is moved through the school," Gillett said. "For investigation purposes, as we are coming into identification and naming, that may not be something to be publicized as to not stir our suspects into possibly fleeing the area."

Gillett called the incident an "isolated crime of opportunity" and said there was no indication that other students would be in danger.

Seminole High School posted a message to its Facebook page Friday.

"SHS Community: As many of you have seen, the Sanford Police Department recently released details pertaining to an incident that occurred in one of our campus parking lots. We are greatly appreciative of the swift action taken by SPD to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"We at SHS pride ourselves on ensuring that we communicate with our community. Please understand that information pertaining to this incident was not sent out immediately as it was an open investigation that dealt with minors.

"To ensure the continued safety of our students, SHS will be increasing the frequency of patrols to the parking lot in question. We are also looking into the installation of surveillance in the area where the incident took place."