VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Holly Hill man was arrested Monday after video surfaced of him allegedly going after African-American drivers with a wrench and baseball bats while yelling a racial slur.
Travis Thompson, 18, was being held in jail on a $20,000 bond.
Thompson broke down in court Tuesday, begging the judge to let him go home, but the judge didn’t let it happen.
Investigators said Thompson was involved in at least three different similar incidents.
Deputies said one of the incidents happened Nov. 11 on Nova Road near Mason Avenue.
The victims told police a man in a black pickup truck with a Confederate flag on it followed them while driving aggressively.
While stopped at a red light on LGPA Boulevard, Thompson got out of the truck and approached the victims’ car while holding a wrench and shouting a racial slur.
The victims told police that Thompson stopped when he noticed someone recording the confrontation.
A witness captured the incident on his cellphone and posted the video to Facebook, which led to the arrest.
Another video taken that same day shows Thompson waving a baseball bat looking ready to swing at another vehicle on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach.
Thompson told police several African-American men in the car threatened him with a gun.
Police arrested Thompson yesterday when they said he was seen waving a baseball bat at another African-American man in a Walmart parking lot.
“I know I messed up. Everybody messes up,” he said to a judge Tuesday. “I still want to be there with my family though. They need me.”
The judge kept his bond at $20,000 and ordered Thompson to take his medication for his ADHD and bipolar disorder, and to get a mental health evaluation.
Thompson is facing a charge of improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, which was upgraded to a felony due to the racial slur allegations.
He bonded out of jail late Tuesday.
Cox Media Group
