Daytona Beach, FL - A fight at a Seabreeze High School basketball game almost got out of hand when one man threatened to pull a knife while the other said he had a gun.
The report from the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) says Justin Morales and Romello Neal were arrested on Friday (Feb. 11). Both men have been charged with disturbing a school function and possessing a weapon on a school campus.
Reports from witnesses say Morales was in a fight with Neal and at least one other man. At some point during the fight, Morales claimed to have a knife when another man said he had a gun. A 16-year-old female who witnessed the fight said the man then began to lift his shirt and pull up a black object.
As the fight continued, someone shouted that a person had a gun, prompting event goers to run from the school gym, which is how officers were made aware of the incident.
After the commotion at the school, officers caught up with Morales who told officers he had a boxcutter in a fanny pack he was wearing. He said he threatened the other males with the boxcutter because they threatened him with a gun. However, the report from the DBPD shows Morales told another officer he didn’t have a knife and only bluffed to the other men that he did. He said he was unaware of the boxcutter, even though it and his ID were the only things in his fanny pack.
While interviewing Morales, officers received a notification from someone who Neal used to work for. The man told investigators that Neal called him asking to be let into his vacant condo because a friend of his was stabbed in the face. He said no and told Neal to take him to the hospital. Neal reportedly said he couldn’t because he had two illegal guns in his car and was waiting for his girlfriend.
Officers made contact with the girlfriend who said Neal had put an item into the trunk of her car when she met him at a McDonald’s near the Seabreeze campus. Officers searched the truck and found two Glock handguns. Investigators did not state in their report whether or not the guns were illegal or stolen.
In his interview with police, Neal said he got into an argument with a man in the gym’s lobby prior to the fight. He said both parties threatened each other with different weapons. He tried to leave the area with his friend, but had to return to the gym to collect something before leaving.
As of Wednesday morning (Feb. 16), both men remain in custody at the Volusia County Jail. Neal was given a $16,000 bond and Morales was given an $11,000 bond.
