Shocking – I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Sheriff Grady Judd as he described the

video of a Felony Battery that occurred on March 30, 2008, at 6124 West Calendar Court,

Lakeland, in which six female juveniles attacked a 16-year-old victim while one juvenile male and one adult male stood outside as “look-outs.” “They lured her into the home for express purpose of filming the attack and posting it on the Internet. This is outrageous behavior.”

The victim, a 16-year-old Lakeland resident, was staying at the home of one of her attackers, Mercades Nichols, DOB 1/24/1991, during spring break. At approximately 8:00 pm, the victim arrived at the residence and was met by Nichols, and Brittini Hardcastle, DOB 9/10/1990, 1242 Thomasville Circle, Lakeland, who both began yelling at the victim and threatening her.

The victim went into a bedroom and was met by April Cooper, DOB 6/12/1993, 1111 West

Greenwood Street, Lakeland, who began insulting and threatening her. Cooper, who had

been hiding, then struck the victim several times in the face, and slammed the victim’s head

into the bedroom wall, knocking the victim unconscious as others were videotaping.

When the victim awoke, she was on the couch in the living room surrounded by Cooper,

Nichols, Hardcastle, Cara Murphy, DOB, 01/02/1992, 2762 Highlands Creek Drive, Lakeland, Britney Mayes, DOB 01/20/1991, 1111 West Greenwood Street, Lakeland, and Kayla Hassell, DOB 10/13/1992, 4575 Old Colony Road, Mulberry.

The victim said it was at that time that all of the suspects began hitting and yelling at her while it was being video taped. At one point in the video, it is plain to see that the suspects blocked the victim from leaving the residence.

During the incident, two additional suspects, Zachary Ashley, DOB 3/11/1991, 6116

Calendar Court West, Lakeland, and Stephen Schumaker, DOB 10/20/1989, 6020

Calendar Court, Lakeland, acted as “look-outs” while the attack was occurring.

After the attack was over, three of the suspects forced the victim into a vehicle and drove

her to another location where she was finally released with a threat from the suspects

warning her not to contact law enforcement or she would be beaten even worse.

Once at a friend’s home, she called law enforcement and was transported to Lakeland

Regional Medical Center by ambulance for injuries sustained as a result of the beating.

On the video, the teenage victim can be seen being beaten while the suspects video

taped the crime, laughed, and encouraged one another to hurt the victim. All of the

juvenile suspects were transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center without further

incident. The single adult, Schumaker was taken to the Polk County Jail. All suspects

were charged with Felony Battery and False Imprisonment.

Mayes, Hardcastle, and Nichols are the three juvenile suspects who forced the victim into

the vehicle and drove the victim to another location. They are charged additionally with

Felony Kidnapping.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Eyewitness News learned Thursday that prosecutors will charge the seven Polk County girls at the center of a violent beating as adults.

The group is accused of attacking a 16-year-old girl and recording the act so they could post it on the Internet. They’ll now face battery and kidnapping charges as adults and the kidnapping charge could be punishable with life in prison.

Three of the girls were also charged with tampering with a witness.

The suspect’s first appearances in court are set for Friday afternoon.

And…black, white, whatever – who CARES what color she is?? Either way, it’s vicious and cruel, especially since they lured her there, beat her down until she was unconscious and then when she woke up, they started beating her again! This is a child – it doesn’t matter what color she is – it’s all wrong.

And to everyone saying “this happens all the time in the black community” – well that doesn’t make it better. It’s like you’ve accepted ignorant violence amongst our children, so you don’t see the big deal when it happens to a white child. That’s messed up thinking. I still would have found this horrific no matter what color this girl was.

And yes, we’ve all seen fights before, but it’s a totally different thing to lure a girl to a house, beat her unconscious, beat her again when she wakes up and not allow her to leave the house.

Get it together people!