JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police have identified the 16-year-old suspect accused of kidnapping his girlfriend and her 1-year-old daughter and leading police on a chase Saturday.
Deon Jerido Jr., is charged with kidnapping, eluding police, shooting into an occupied vehicle and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Police said Jerido fired a shot into the windshield of his girlfriend's car in a driveway and then hopped into the car and drove off, abducting his 20-year-old girlfriend and her daughter Saturday.
Her uncle saw what happened and called police about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
While gathering information about the case on Acorn Park Court, an officer noticed Jerido drive by in the victim's vehicle, police said.
"Maybe she talked him out of doing what he was planning to do, because he did come back,” News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said. “He might have decided, 'OK I'm not going to do this. I'm going to drop you off and leave.' But by the time he came back the police were here."
Jerido turned the car around and tried to get away, and police chased him.
“At that point, he knows he may be charged with kidnapping, discharge of a firearm, he's in illegal possession with a firearm, and he just thought, 'I can get away. Let me give it a try,' but it didn't work out,” Smith said.
The chase ended when Jerido steered off the road at the Plymouth Street and Roosevelt Boulevard intersection, flipping the vehicle on the railroad tracks.
Authorities said the victims did not appear to be injured but were taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center for evaluation.
Authorities are questioning how the teenager got hold of a gun.
"It's so easy to get firearms now. They can buy them. Some may have been stolen and someone could have sold it to him,” Smith said. “He might have gotten it from a parent or a grandparent that wasn't secured, so it's quite easy to get their hands on a firearm, if they really want one."
Jerido's arrest report lists his grandmother as his legal guardian.
News4Jax has learned the Jerido's father, Deon Jerido Sr., was gunned down while sitting in his car at West 24th and Lee streets in 2001. His murder remains unsolved.
Deon Jerido Sr. had an extensive criminal past, but Deon Jerido Jr. had no previous criminal history.
The next step for the state attorney's office is to decide whether to charge the teen as an adult in the kidnapping case.