Teen goes to hospital after fight with stun gun
SEBRING (FOX 13) - An already violent brawl between two girls at Sebring High School took a disturbing turn when one used a stun gun on the other, sending her to the hospital.
The victim, 16-year-old Jahnasia Nelson, and her mother told FOX 13 News Tuesday about how frightening the ordeal was.
"It was scary. I wasn't expecting for it to happen," Jahnasia said.
"It was a very frightening situation to get a phone call saying that my daughter is rushed to the hospital from being tased," said Jahnasia's mother, Jessica Toney. "It's frightening to [my daughter] and she's having nightmares."
Sheriff Susan Benton said the fight actually spilled over from the previous day, when relatives of Jahnasia and the suspect, identified as Johntajia Evans had an altercation at the school.
The sheriff said Evans told deputies she got the stun gun from her sister, who talked about "taking care of business."
"What really gets me," Benton said, "is when you dig down to all of this nonsense and all the energy and the efforts and a kid being arrested and a kid taking a ride to the hospital it's all about Facebook and a boy."
Evans is charged with having a weapon on school property, which is a felony.
Students recorded the fight between Jahnasia and Johntajia, 15, on their cell phones.
"She tased me from one side of the hall to the other side of the hall," Jahnasia said, adding she's still healing from the cuts and still has trouble sleeping and breathing. "I want it to hurry up and be done and over with because the flashback I have, it's just sad. Every time I think about it, I get real emotional."
Investigators said the suspect's mother was there when the fight broke out because she wanted to speak with administrators about the issues.
Toney said the suspect's mother got violent as she pulled the girls apart and wants her charged; deputies said there is not enough evidence to do so. It's unclear whether they have viewed the cell phone video.
Sheriff Benton, who called the dispute "teenage nonsense," said this dispute never should have escalated to this point.
"Well I'm glad it wasn't a gun, a firearm," she said. "Our deputies were right there on scene. It could have been worse. It could have gotten more involved, but they separated the combatants pretty quickly."
Jahnasia's mother said she's upset things ended up like this.
"They've been friends for too long and I feel as if they should have been able to talk everything out," Toney said, adding this is not what she wants her daughter to be focusing on as the school year draws to a close. "It's rather be focusing on my daughter passing these tests so that she can be on to the next level."
Evans is also facing battery, resisting an officer without violence and disturbing the peace charges.
The sheriff said Evans' sister could also face an affray charge for the previous altercation.