DAYTONA BEACH, FL - A man in his forties has been sentenced to decades in prison for slitting a teenager's throat, nearly killing the boy. The suspect, 44-year-old Jermaine Lynn Long pleaded no contest to attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery along with six other charges in three unrelated cases, the Volusia County State Attorney's Office said in a press release.
Long has been sentenced to 45 years. On February 14, police responded to the Daytona Beach Boardwalk around 10:00 p.m. for reports of a stabbing, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law & Crime.
Upon arriving, police found the victim suffering from a "severe laceration" to his neck. Paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital, where the boy received 13 stitches. Witnesses were able to provide a suspect description to police and they later found the man, identified as Long, near Joe's Crab Shack. He allegedly had a box cutter and a silver knife on him.
During the sentencing, the victim, identified as Sullivan "Sully" Clark, said that he still has a scar on his neck. He said he is still recovering from his injuries and that the emotional toll will last longer.
"It hurt to get stabbed and to get stitches, but it hurt a lot more watching my mom cry every day," he said. His mother, Lorie Clarke, also spoke at the sentencing, telling the court that Sullivan wasn't her only son who was affected.
"My youngest son, who is just 11, had to witness his brother's neck severed as Sullivan clenched his neck, asking us if he was going to bleed out, asking us if he was going to die," she said. Sullivan told police after the stabbing that he did not see his attacker.
"He did not realize he had been cut until other people on scene in a car nearby informed him that he had a cut on his neck," police wrote. Witnesses also said they saw Long "lingering" in the area before the attack. Long allegedly slashed the boy across the neck with an edged weapon.
Long admitted to putting his hands on the victim but denied cutting his throat. He then requested a lawyer, police said during the interview. Sullivan said he was walking with his family and looking at his phone after a day at the Daytona 500 races. Suddenly, he was attacked.
"The crazy thing is I turned at the perfect time because I was on the phone and I looked up at the slingshot and that's how he got the side of my neck and not right here," he said, pointing to his Adam's apple during an interview with WOFL. Sullivan's mother first thought it was an attempted robbery until the suspect allegedly pulled out a knife.
The boy's father said he was stunned. "As soon as we realized what happened, I could see his neck gashed right open," Jerod Clarke said. "I could see all the way down to the meat." He said the attack was senseless. "Who would ever expect someone would attack a 13-year-old boy?"
Long reportedly attacked someone with a sledgehammer earlier in the day, but police declined to arrest him. "An extremely dangerous individual is now off the streets for 45 years," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement. "Hopefully, he will not survive his incarceration."
Long apologized for his actions and said he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. "I'm sorry for putting the family and the young men through that, but me, I didn't know what I was doing," Long reportedly said.
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