A suspect with prior cases was arrested after a teen suffered a deep neck cut.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 44-year-old Daytona Beach man was jailed after police say he cut a teenager’s neck near the boardwalk on a busy Daytona 500 weekend night, an attack the boy’s family said missed a major artery by about a millimeter and could have been fatal.
The arrest of Jermaine Long on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon has become the latest flashpoint in a wider beachside safety debate that has unfolded for months among business owners, residents, and city officials. Leaders have been weighing how to expand patrol coverage and whether to revive a dedicated boardwalk unit by spring, when crowds typically swell again. The teen’s parents say their family trip ended in seconds, and they want the court system to keep the suspect in custody while the case moves forward.
Police said the attack happened at about 10:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, along South Atlantic Avenue just south of Main Street, near the heart of the tourist strip. Officers responded after a report that someone had slashed a person’s throat with an edged weapon, police said. The child suffered a severe neck laceration and was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center for treatment, according to police. Investigators interviewed witnesses, and an arrest affidavit said the victim’s mother wanted to press charges, authorities said.
The teen’s family, from Delray Beach, said they were walking near Ocean Avenue by the boardwalk after spending the day around Daytona’s race events. Lori Clarke said she saw a man come toward her son, Sullivan Clarke, 13, and thought the movement looked like a robbery attempt. “I thought he was stealing my son’s phone,” she said. “Then I realized it wasn’t that.” Jerod Clarke said the injury was immediately frightening. “I saw my son’s neck totally gashed open,” he said, describing how quickly the family understood it was a life-threatening cut.
The teen received 13 stitches, his parents said. Doctors told the family the blade came within about a millimeter of a major artery, Jerod Clarke said. Sullivan Clarke said he believes he survived because he turned his head at the exact moment the attack happened. He said he looked up at the Slingshot ride as they passed it, shifting the angle of his neck so the cut landed to the side. The family said that small movement may have been the difference between a deep wound and a fatal one.
Police said they found Long nearby and arrested him. Authorities located him near an overpass on the pier next to Joe’s Crab Shack, police said. In an interview with police, Long invoked his right to an attorney and did not answer questions, according to a summary of the affidavit described in local reporting. He was booked on aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and he remained in jail as the case proceeded through early court steps. Reports about bond conditions varied early in the case, but authorities have consistently said Long was not released after the arrest.
Long’s background has also drawn scrutiny. The teen’s parents said they learned after the arrest that Long is a registered sex offender and has a criminal history that includes drug and battery cases. Separate reporting on Volusia County records lists multiple prior cases, including charges tied to sex offender registration requirements. The records also include an aggravated assault allegation in January in which Long was accused of threatening people with a long wooden pole, with witnesses also describing a knife during the confrontation.
In that January case, a law enforcement officer described Long “wielding” an 8-foot pole while attempting to strike two people during patrols in the South Atlantic Avenue area, according to a report summary. One alleged victim described a small kitchen knife, the officer wrote. Court paperwork later indicated prosecutors would not continue pursuing the earlier charge and did not publicly explain the decision. The new case now focuses on the February injury to the teen, and investigators have not said whether the earlier incidents will be referenced in court filings, sentencing arguments, or bond reviews.
Officials have not publicly identified a motive in the teen attack. Police have not said the suspect and victim knew each other, and the family said they had never seen the man before. That lack of an explanation has been part of what unsettles the family, Jerod Clarke said, because it suggests the violence could have been aimed at anyone walking the same stretch of sidewalk. Lori Clarke said she keeps replaying the moment she first assumed it was a phone snatch and then realized it was a blade.
The incident landed amid ongoing arguments about how to police the boardwalk corridor. Beachside businesses and some residents have described repeated confrontations with aggressive panhandlers and people camping in public areas, concerns they say can spike during large events when sidewalks and bars are packed. A city redevelopment advisory board has discussed whether private security patrols can help, and business owners have said they want faster, consistent police response in the blocks around the boardwalk and hotel entrances.
Police Chief Jakari Young has said the department expects new recruits to finish training by April, a timeline he says could make it possible to restore a boardwalk unit with officers assigned close to around-the-clock coverage. City leaders have also discussed using a satellite police office near the beachside hotels to shorten response times and put officers visibly closer to where crowds gather. The proposals have been framed as a practical staffing shift rather than a new program, with officials saying the goal is steady presence along A1A and the adjacent business corridor.
For the Clarke family, those policy debates feel personal now. They said they came for a race weekend and ended up in a hospital instead. Jerod Clarke said his son still wanted to attend the Daytona 500 the next day, a sign of resilience that both comforted and worried the parents. The family later returned home to Delray Beach, where they said the teen is recovering and trying to move past the shock of being attacked in public while his parents were only feet away.
Witness accounts have added to the picture of how quickly the night unfolded. A worker in the area, Andrew Walker, told local media he was stunned to see the suspect being led away because he said he had spoken with the man shortly before the attack and did not sense danger. The family said that detail underscores how hard it is to predict violence in a crowded tourist setting, even when families are attentive and walking together.
Long’s case is expected to proceed through routine felony steps in Volusia County, including initial hearings and scheduling that will determine deadlines for prosecutors to file formal charging documents and for defense attorneys to respond. Investigators may continue reviewing witness statements, surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and medical records tied to the teen’s injuries. Authorities have not announced additional charges, and they have not released details about the specific weapon beyond describing it as an edged weapon.
As of Tuesday, the teen’s family said he was home and healing, and Long remained in custody while the aggravated battery case moved forward. The next milestone will be Long’s next court appearance in Volusia County, where the judge will address the status of the case and any custody conditions.
Author note: Last updated February 17, 2026.