Ascend Charter Academy High School {Google Maps}
By Kevin Deutsch
A brawl between students at Ascend Charter Academy High School in Margate resulted in a serious injury to a child—and potential criminal charges against those involved, police records show.
The fighting broke out on Oct. 12 around 1:20 p.m. in the school auditorium at 5251 Coconut Creek Pkwy., where non-testing students were being kept while other students took their exams, according to a Margate Police Department incident report.
A police officer working an off-duty detail saw two male students fighting and tried to get them to stop. Multiple fights then broke out in the back of the auditorium, the report states, sending officers from Margate and the Coconut Creek Police Department rushing to the scene.
Records show that one male student, a juvenile injured in the fighting, lost consciousness from a head injury. The student, who also had swelling over his left eye, later regained consciousness, police said.
He was taken to Broward Health North for medical treatment as a trauma alert. Doctors did not detect any fractures or spinal injuries, records show.
An investigation by Margate officers found that the brawl started when student Darel Destinoble, 18, threatened to slap another student, whose name was not made public because they are a juvenile, according to the incident report.
A third student, Shandrell Crane, 20, also joined the fighting, as did a fourth classmate of the combatants, John Carrier, 18, the report states.
Principal Stacy Johnson identified students from surveillance footage, where they were seen “punching, pushing and wrestling.”
Police initially detained six students.
“This altercation resulted in chaos within the school as multiple students and staff members attempted to separate them and stop them from fighting,” the report states.
Police filed non-custodial probable cause affidavits against four students, including Destinoble, Crane, and Carrier, with the charge of Disturbing the Peace/Interfering with School Administration Function, police said.
The affidavits will be submitted to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office to determine whether prosecutors will file the criminal charges, records show.
The charter school’s website includes the slogan “I feel Safe at School” and boasts of the facility’s safety and security.
“When we ask our students why they are here at Ascend, the number one answer we hear is, ‘I feel safe,’” the site states.
“We’ve also put state-of-the-art security measures in place and have a long-standing positive relationship with the Margate Police Department. Our students, staff, and guests have wraparound security that keeps everyone safe, 24 hours a day.”
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