A Lady Lake woman has been charged with encouraging juveniles to attack a boy at the Leesburg Recreation Complex.
On May 13, an officer with the Leesburg Police Department responded to the recreation complex, located on Griffin Road, about a large group of juveniles fighting that were later found to have been encouraged by 31-year-old Charity Lashay Nelams, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County.
Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a mother who stated multiple juveniles attacked her son. She had shown up at the end of the altercation and was trying to de-escalate the situation, the affidavit said.
Her juvenile son stated that he and an undisclosed individual had been in a verbal altercation that turned physical. Another person immediately jumped into the altercation, and the juvenile had to fight them both at the same time. At that point, Nelams was observed standing near the altercation, escalating the fight, the affidavit said.
During the physical altercation, about 15 to 20 other minors got involved, striking the juvenile with closed fists and kicking him multiple times. He tried to flee on foot several times. Unrelated adults eventually intervened and stopped the incident. The juvenile had some possible injuries, and his mother remained with him while they waited for medical services, the affidavit said.
A relative of the juvenile advised that Nelams was very aggressive. She made numerous remarks about being willing to “put her hands on” anyone who intervened and that she was willing to go to jail for an undisclosed individual, the affidavit said.
Nelams was interviewed, too, before having any suspicion of criminal activity on her part. She said she was there trying to break up the fight, and she tried talking one of the juveniles into leaving without a fight. A large group of kids joined in the altercation, after which the juvenile victim ran, the affidavit said.
When the crowd reconvened near the recreation complex, an undisclosed individual was armed with a firearm and making threats. Nelams claimed that someone threatened to kill her, the affidavit said.
During the investigation, the officer obtained video footage of the altercation taken from cell phones during the incident. The video corroborated most of the information regarding the physical altercation. It showed that the alleged armed individual did not have a weapon or make any threats during the incident, the affidavit said.
Nelams was seen orchestrating the altercation. She instructed children where to stand to establish a circle around the subjects involved in the fight. She also behaved in a belligerent manner and escalated the altercation, the affidavit said.
Nelams had multiple opportunities to intervene but made no effort to prevent the fight. She cheered and encouraged the fight as it was happening, the affidavit said.
The officer completed numerous Juvenile Complaint Referrals based on the physical altercation. After reviewing the incident, it was determined that Nelams encouraged and contributed to the delinquent behavior being carried out by the juveniles in her presence. She made threats and commands that persuaded the juveniles to follow a delinquent course of conduct, the affidavit said.
Nelams was ultimately arrested Aug. 12, by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant issued for contributing to the delinquency of a minor or dependency of a minor. She was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.
In 2017, Nelams served time in jail after a hit-and-run crash.