Palm Coast, FL - Two women over the age of 70 are recovering from minor injuries and each of their children went to jail after two brothers, ages 11 and 13, got in a fight over a can of soda. The parents, 42-year-old Jessica McCraney and her husband 49-year-old Sidney McCraney walked into the middle of the brawl Monday evening.
When the Flagler County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the family's Palm Coast home, they met with the older women, who are grandmothers, Jessica and Sidney and the two boys, who all live in the house. The deputies note that the incident report is a cumulative statement.
The 13-year-old was upset because his brother was drinking his soda. The soda can was thrown and exploded. The older boy tried to clean the floor, using his feet and a clean towel, upsetting one of the grandmothers. She said she slapped the boy on the butt as 'discipline.' He hit her in the mouth with a full can of soda in his hand. She had a visible laceration on her lip.
A short time later, Jessica comes homes and hears about the incident. She grabbed a belt and started hitting the 13-year-old to punish him. While she was doing that, she also hit the other grandmother and the 11-year-old for no apparent reason. While this was going on, Sidney came home. Jessica hit him with the belt. He took it away from her then hit her with it, bruising her arm.
“Unfortunately this was not the TV show ‘Family Feud’ but was a family free-for-all that resulted in half of the household going to jail,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “We’re living in exceptionally high-stress times right now and it is important to practice self-control and de-escalate the situation before it turns violent. I hope that this family is able to heal from this and gets help for anger management.”
Jessica was arrested and charged with Battery on a Person Over 65 Years Old, Child Abuse, and
Domestic Battery and was released after posting a $1,000 bond. Sidney was arrested and charged with Domestic Battery and released by the judge at first appearance. The 13-year-old was charged with
Battery on a Person Over 65 Years Old and released by DJJ.
