Five Arrested in North Carolina Christmas Eve Rumble

By Alicia Cruz

The black Urban Times

'Twas the day before Christmas, and all throughout the city not much was stirring except for a dust up brewing along the 1300 block of Davis Street in Jacksonville, North Carolina that sent three adults and two teens to the county jail for the holiday.

According to Channel 12 news, the fracas broke out after police responded to a call concerning individuals arguing in the area. The situation escalated to fisticuffs after the officers arrived, ordered the crowd to disperse and they were ignored.

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One of the suspects, Jonathan Guiterrez, of Homestead, Florida allegedly refused to leave the scene and was being restrained by Officers C. Wilson and M. Summerlin as they attempted to handcuff the 37-year-old man. Warrants allege that instead of cooperating with the officers, Guiterrez began punching Wilson and Summerlin. Guiterrez was charged with assault on a government official, failure to disperse and injury to personal property for damaging Summerlin's shirt during the ruckus. His bond was set at $5,000.

Guiterrez’ son, Jonathan Guiterrez, Jr., (Left) also of Homestead, Fla reportedly joined the affray and was being handcuffed for failing to disperse when he became combative towards the arresting officer. As Summerlin attempted to subdue the angry 19-year-old man he allegedly began punching and choking officer J. Friis and punching officer Wilson. The younger Guiterrez was eventually pepper sprayed and placed under arrest. He is charged with failure to disperse, assaulting a government official, and assault by strangulation.

The elder Guiterrez (Left) told Channel 12 News he only became involved in the dustup after he saw the officers tackle his 16-year-old son, Hector in case of mistaken identity based upon the clothing Hector was wearing. Guiterrez, who plans to return to Miami later this week, said he believes the whole thing was a misunderstanding, but added that he also felt the officers were "too aggressive" and that they "Beat the **** out of my kids."

Another suspect involved in the melee, Jose Luis Franco, 17, was charged with assault inflicting serious injury and disorderly conduct after police say he left a vehicle he was a passenger in and knocked another man to the ground. Franco then allegedly hit the man about the face using his fists causing a bloody and broken nose while Franco's friends video tapped the beat down. Franco, of Davis Street, is charged with causing a public disturbance by engaging in fighting and violent conduct. He did not assault any of the police officers. An Onslow County magistrate set his bond at $500.

Angel Manuel Ruperto, of Ponce County in Puerto Rico was slapped with numerous charges after police say he injured several of the officers on scene as they attempted to investigate the fight and later place the 22-year-old under arrest.

Officer Wilson suffered a back injury and ripped shirt after Ruperto punched and kicked him during the struggle. According to media reports, another officer suffered an injury to his forehead after Ruperto punched and kicked officer W.E. Woolfolk as he attempted to arrest him. The suspect then allegedly assaulted Friis three times, and punched and kicked Officer G. Manning as he assisted fellow officers who were trying to arrest Ruperto.

The Jacksonville Police Department has charged Ruperto with three counts of assaulting a government official, two counts of assault causing physical injury, and one count each of resisting a public officer and failure to disperse on command. Ruperto, who witnesses say was beaten with a baton, says he only began scraping with the officers to help his cousin. 

Daisy Besancourt, of Idlebrook Circle in Midway Park, was charged with failure to disperse on command. Police say they ordered Besancourt to leave the scene but she ignored them and continued going person to person videotaping the melee with her cell phone. When she refused to turn it off, the police confiscated the phone and arrested her, the Jacksonville Daily News reported. Her bond was set at $1,000.

Bond for Ruperto was set at $6,500 and $7,000 for Guiterrez Jr. whose first court appearance was scheduled for today.

All the Jacksonville brass would say in relation to the Christmas Eve brawl was that they investigate "Every incident involving resistance to officers" and that no further comments would be made about the incident until an internal affairs investigation was complete.There's been no word on the medical condition of any of the injured officers.