By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
Friday, September 10, 2010
BROOKSVILLE — Hernando sheriff's deputies have arrested two Nature Coast Technical High School students after another student accused one of them of pulling a knife on him following baseball practice.
According to the arrest reports, the alleged victim said he bumped into a 15-year-old boy while leaving the school's baseball dugout at about 5:20 p.m. Thursday.
The alleged victim told deputies that he continued to walk away when he heard the teen tell him to "bump me again." When the boy turned around, he saw the teen was holding a black folding knife up to his chest "in an aggressive manner," according to the report.
The alleged victim then quickly ran off the baseball field. He told his parents and then told a deputy about what happened.
Two coaches on the school's baseball team recovered the knife from the teen, according to the report.
During the investigation, deputies learned the 15-year-old boy had taken the knife from a 16-year-old boy and that several players and coaches had observed the knife in the teen's possession in the past.
The 16-year-old later admitted that the knife belonged to him but that the 15-year-old had taken it from him and made a threat to the other boy.
The 15-year-old admitted to pulling the knife on the alleged victim, but said he had been playing around with the knife in the dugout before he was bumped. When he confronted the boy, the report said, the teen realized he was still holding the knife in his hand.
The 15-year-old faces charges of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on school property. The 16-year-old was also charged with possession of a weapon on school property.
Both teens were taken to the Hernando County Jail, where the Department of Juvenile Justice was then contacted.