By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Jacksonville Police Department detectives are investigating two assaults which took place during the last few days; both occurring in the middle of the road.

The first assault, which occurred Saturday morning in the 1000 block of San Saba Street, appears to authorities to have been an ambush.

“The victim was at the Bottoms Up club by himself when a white male subject, that he thought he knew, asked him for a ride home. The unidentified passenger directed him to San Saba, where they came upon a silver Jeep Liberty parked in the roadway, creating a road block,” said Detective Jason Price. “When the victim stopped his vehicle, the passenger started striking him in the head, and three black males who had been in the silver SUV pulled him from his vehicle and started kicking and striking him. From the description given by the victim and two witnesses, it sounds like a set-up.”

Following the attack, one witness claimed the four men entered the silver sport utility vehicle and fled the scene, heading east on San Saba Street. During the attack, the victim’s wallet, which contained $25 in cash, was stolen; making the crime a robbery.

Neither witness nor the victim observed any weapons during the assault. The white male was described as being in his late 20s to early 30s, standing about 5’7” with sandy, blonde hair. No descriptions were given of the three black culprits. There are no suspects at this time.

“Physical evidence was collected at the scene, which could lead to the identity of one or more of the actors. The fingerprints taken from the scene, which we believe belong to the suspects, have been sent off for processing,” Price said.

Once identified, all four men could face one count of robbery.

The other assault being looked into by JPD took place Monday morning in the 500 block of Main Street. The victim, 22, claims he was dragged from his residence into the street where he was beaten by six individuals.

“The victim says he woke up to hear people yelling on his porch. He advised us that his baby’s mother, a 16-year-old juvenile, had come to his residence along with two black males to get his daughter from him,” Price said. “An argument about the child started, and one of the two men who had come with the mother punched the victim in the nose and dragged him by the shirt into the street.”

Once he had been pulled into the roadway, the victim said that three other men got out of vehicles which had been parked on the street and ran to join in the attack. According to the victim, all six people present, including his baby’s mother, took part in the assault.

“After beating and striking him with their fists for a short time, it appears that all the attackers ran back into their cars and left the scene. Contact was made with the victim at the emergency room at ETMC-Jacksonville,” Price said. “The victim suffered abrasions to his shoulder and back, a bloody nose and a few cuts on his face. He has expressed a wish to pursue charges in this case.”

The victim identified the two men who came to the porch with the juvenile female, but he was unable to name any of the three men who later joined the attack.

Both the victim and the juvenile female suspect have lengthy records with the police department, including assaultive offenses. Neither of the two men who were recognized by the victim have been dealt with by JPD before.

Price said the investigation in this case is ongoing.