Suzette Cook
A group of teenagers were involved in a fight just after midnight on Saturday night at the Newberry Cornfield Maze after rumors of a possible planned fight and shooting had been reported earlier in the day.
According to the incident report obtained by Mainstreet Daily News, the corn maze location had received several threats describing that juveniles were planning on shooting each other at the location.
As a result, The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) increased patrol of the area.
According to the report, as most of the occupants were gathered near the exit toward the end of the night, a security guard chased a juvenile out of the exit.
“This caused a stampede to occur, as most of the occupants began running towards the exit and jumping the fence trying to get away from the perceived danger inside” the report states.
Once people went outside of the re-entry exit, it was closed and occupants had to remain in the parking lot and began leaving, the report states.
While in the parking lot, “several groups began to merge together and yelling occurred prior to unknown subjects in the middle of the group fighting,” according to the report.
Deputies then made it to the middle of the crowd and dispersed the juveniles who then regrouped 50 feet away and began moving in a mass towards Newberry Road.
A fight broke out in the middle of the group and the crowd collapsed on the fighting individuals, the report states.
A deputy was able to force their way into the middle of the juveniles, where a 12-year-old female was actively in a fighting stance going after another female. A deputy detained that female without incident.
While at the patrol vehicle, the deputy reported that an adult, Tamika Wilson, 36, of Gainesville approached and said the detained teen was her cousin.
The report states that juveniles also followed the deputy over to the patrol car and that Wilson and, “many other subjects then begin to racially degrade deputies calling us “Crackers” “Nigger” and “Uncle Tom.”
Several teens shouted that the deputies should, “take our vests off and fight them,” the report states.
The juvenile was detained in handcuffs, “due to her highly hostile nature and attempting to walk away,” the report states and she remained in handcuffs until the conclusion of her interaction with deputies.
The crowd dispersed without incident after the detainment of the teen who was released to Wilson.
No arrests were made and no shooting occurred.
This incident was also confirmed by Mainstreet Daily News at the scene after speaking with eyewitnesses.
Last October, the Newberry Corn Maze was the scene of two other incidents when an abandoned house adjacent to the maze burnt down and a former security guard was arrested for abuse of an elderly employee after being fired.