Police opened an internal review after officers twice encountered the suspect before the nighttime attack.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — A 44-year-old man charged with slashing a 13-year-old boy’s throat near the Daytona Beach boardwalk is also accused of attacking another man with a sledgehammer earlier the same day, and police say they are reviewing why he was not arrested during earlier encounters with officers.
The case has drawn scrutiny because authorities say officers were called to incidents involving the suspect hours before the teen was cut on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Daytona Beach police said they have launched an internal review of the earlier response and later filed an additional aggravated battery charge connected to the sledgehammer case. The teen survived after receiving 13 stitches, and doctors told his family the injury could have been fatal if it had been slightly deeper. The suspect, Jermaine Lynn Long, is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bond as the two cases move through court.
Police outlined a daylong timeline that began in the morning and ended with the attack on Ocean Avenue near the boardwalk area. Daytona Beach police said officers first encountered Long at about 7:58 a.m. on Feb. 14 at a property where the owner wanted him removed. Officers issued a trespass warning and released him, saying there was not enough evidence at that point to arrest him. Later that morning, officers responded to a disturbance at a 7-Eleven at 35 S. Atlantic Ave., near the boardwalk and Main Street area. Investigators later accused Long of chasing a man and striking him with a sledgehammer, then following him into the store while witnesses said he appeared ready to swing again. A woman who described herself as a neighbor, Joanne Payne, said she heard he returned earlier with a sledgehammer and was yelling that he was “going to make some noise.”
Officers spoke with Long and the other man at the 7-Eleven but did not make an arrest at the scene. Police later said the alleged victim did not fully cooperate and that investigators did not believe they had enough evidence at the time to legally justify taking Long into custody. The store clerk asked officers to trespass Long from the business, police said, and authorities later noted the man struck in the hammer case did not suffer major injuries. That decision became the focus of questions after the third call of the day. Police said officers later responded to 18 S. Ocean Ave. after receiving reports of a stabbing. Witnesses provided statements, the victim cooperated and officers said they observed physical evidence, leading them to locate and arrest Long within minutes on an aggravated battery count tied to the slashing. “From the initial time of the call to the time he was in handcuffs was within a couple of minutes,” Daytona Beach police operations director Bill Rhodes said.
The victim in the nighttime attack was identified by his family as Sullivan Clarke, a 13-year-old who was visiting Daytona Beach with his parents during Daytona 500 weekend. His parents, Lori and Jerod Clarke, said their family was on Ocean Avenue near the boardwalk when a man approached their son. Lori Clarke said she noticed “a strange look in his eyes” and at first thought she was seeing a phone theft. Jerod Clarke said he then saw his son’s neck “totally gashed open,” describing a frightening moment as they rushed to get help. The teen was treated with 13 stitches, and his father said doctors told them the cut came within a millimeter of a deeper injury that could have changed the outcome. Police have described the slashing as random, and investigators have said the attack occurred near the Slingshot ride area off the boardwalk corridor, a busy stretch lined with attractions and stores that draws visitors during major events.
Long’s legal situation now includes two separate cases tied to the same day. Police said that after further review of the earlier hammer incident, investigators worked with the State Attorney’s Office and concluded there was enough evidence to file an additional aggravated battery charge even without the alleged victim’s cooperation. The additional charge changed the bond picture, police said. Authorities said bond had initially been set at $50,000 in connection with the slashing case, but after the added aggravated battery count, Long is being held without bond. Prosecutors have filed formal charges in the sledgehammer case, while prosecutors had not yet filed formal charges in the separate slashing case as of his recent court appearances, according to court coverage by local media. Police have also said they are reviewing a January incident involving Long at the same 7-Eleven, where earlier charges were not pursued.
Long appeared in court at the Volusia County Justice Center as the sledgehammer case moved forward. He entered the courtroom in a jail uniform and spoke directly to a judge during a pretrial detention hearing focused on the hammer allegation. His attorney, Steven Robinson, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and said his client wanted to remain in custody while the case proceeds. “Not guilty, and that’s how we’re going to proceed, in his best interest, to remain in jail,” Robinson said after the hearing. A judge granted a request from prosecutors for DNA swabs as part of the process, according to the court report. Robinson said Long was calm despite the serious accusations, adding that Long maintained he did not commit the attacks.
In Daytona Beach, the case has also raised broader questions about policing in the crowded tourist area, especially with major events that bring large crowds. Daytona Beach police said they are increasing their presence around the boardwalk and Main Street corridor and plan to open a satellite office in a nearby hotel to boost visibility in the area. The department’s internal review is focused on the earlier encounter at the 7-Eleven and whether the initial investigation met policy and legal standards. Police have said they will not release additional details about the internal review until it is complete. For the Clarke family, the focus has been on recovery after a trip that turned traumatic. The teen returned home with his parents to Delray Beach, and his family has said they want answers about why Long was free earlier in the day before the nighttime slashing.
Next court dates have been set as the cases move on separate tracks. A pretrial hearing in the sledgehammer case is scheduled for April 1 at 9 a.m., according to court information released in local reports. An arraignment in the boardwalk slashing case is scheduled for March 10 unless prosecutors file formal charges earlier. Long remained jailed in Volusia County as of late February, while police said their internal review of the earlier response continues and prosecutors review whether additional filings are warranted.
Author note: Last updated February 23, 2026.