A 51-year-old Florida man, John Albanos, is accused of chasing down two children with his car after falling victim to a “ding dong ditch” prank in the city of Naples.
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According to a portable cause affidavit obtained by Law & Crime, the incident occurred on Saturday, July 12. At around 8:45 p.m., Naples Police Department officers responded to an Avenue North residence. They had received reports of a man allegedly “chasing kids on scooters.”
Responding officers were met by three juveniles, who stated that they were pulling “ding dong ditch” pranks in the neighborhood. The affidavit details that one of the children was 11 years old and the second one was 12. The third child’s age is unspecified.
The minors alleged that, after pulling the prank on a house, the owner, Albanos, jumped inside his vehicle and began to chase them. At the time, the children were driving their scooters. Suddenly noted that the vehicle was allegedly speeding toward them.
Thankfully, the children escaped the vehicle, allegedly driven by Albanos, by driving off the road into a nearby yard.
“The three victims stated that Albanos was yelling at them and swerving the vehicle in the direction they were in,” the affidavit stated. “All three victims said they had to move out of the way multiple times in fear of getting hit by the car.”
Witnesses And Alleged Confession
An additional witness, the 911 caller, also told police that he had heard yelling from outside. Then, he observed Albano’s vehicle speeding behind the boys on scooters, as per the document. Then, the neighbor allegedly told the officers that he witnessed how the vehicle turned around and sped toward the victims onto a neighboring driveway.
The witness then added that he confronted Albanos, telling him to stop chasing the children, the affidavit claimed. Albanos allegedly began yelling at the witness and even turned the vehicle at him. However, the victim’s wife said that she had called 911, which prompted Albanos to leave, the document alleged.
When confronted by officers, Albanos allegedly admitted to the chasing, saying that he wanted to “Put the fear of god into the victims.” He, however, denied wanting to actually hit the children with his car, as per the affidavit.
John Albanos was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with the intent to commit a felony. He was released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond. His arraignment was scheduled for August 4.