Arrest made in Jacksonville viral street brawl

Jontaianna Pitts, 18, faces 3 felonies; waives preliminary hearing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An arrest has been made in the Jacksonville street brawl captured in a video that has since gone viral. 

Jontaianna Pitts, 18, has been charged with aggravated battery, felony battery on a security guard and criminal mischief. 

Pitts waived her right to a preliminary hearing during her first appearance before a judge Sunday. She has a $30,009 bond and her next court date is scheduled for June 13. According to JSO's website, Pitts has been released from jail.

The fight is said to have happened at 3730 Moncrief Road in Northwest Jacksonville. Several women threw punches at each other. One of them was supposedly pregnant, according to several social media posts. 

At one point in the video, a woman is seen hitting one another with a baseball bat and damaging cars with it.  

Police said Pitts was the woman seen in the video using the bat and added that her mother was the one who gave it to her.

Crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said each of the women could face criminal mischief charges.

"Charges would depend on what was actually done," Smith said. "If they damaged the vehicle, (en)danger the buildings, then they could be charged with criminal mischief depending on how much damage was caused."

The video is circulating on social media quickly, with thousands of views. Many of News4Jax's viewers reached out saying the fight worries them in regards to safety.

News4Jax spoke with Kiera Cole who, lives in the neighborhood where and said she was skeptical about walking around. She said she wants the violence to her area to stop. 

"Some people are insecure," Cole said. "They're not mature enough to handle what's going on. They fight over little things, and they just take it to the next level. They make it become more than what it is."

Smith said the people involved could have faced misdemeanor charges for fighting in public if they were caught in the act by police.

"Anytime someone is fighting, it is a violation of the law," Smith said. "A lot of people don't understand that, so it's just a mutual fight between two people. That is a misdemeanor."

Pitts has a prior felony arrest for possession of a weapon on school property. 

The investigation is ongoing, police said.