Sarasota Sheriff updates the public on the Skye Ranch incident involving three men following a black teenager
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
Sheriff Hoffman
On October 15, 2024, our agency was made aware of a video depicting Cornell Harris, III (18) being followed by Romulo Nobrega (36), Stephen Carega (41), and Geffrey Gardner (43) as Mr. Harris videotaped himself walking through the Sarasota neighborhood of Skye Ranch. The video depicts Mr. Nobrega, Mr. Carega, and Mr. Gardner following Mr. Harris for an extended period of time, while attempting to question him and becoming more confrontational. Several versions of this video have been edited and have since made their way to various platforms. One social media influencer even falsely posted that a firearm was used during this incident.
At some point during this incident, an off-duty Sarasota County Sheriff's Office sergeant living in the area was made aware of this event by his neighbor and appropriately responded to the scene per agency policy. The sergeant correctly determined that Mr. Harris was lawfully walking and informed him he could go about his business and instructed the others to stop following Mr. Harris. I applaud this sergeant for immediately assessing the situation and recognizing that Mr. Harris should be allowed to continue walking through the neighborhood as a guest of his mother, who is a resident of Skye Ranch.
As your Sheriff, I understand the public interest that this event brought to our community over the last several weeks. I also understand the heightened emotions of everyone involved. As a law enforcement agency, our job is to put aside emotion, outside influences, and social media commentators to conduct a thorough investigation to determine if a criminal violation of Florida law has occurred. It should be noted that in order to establish probable cause for an assault charge we must prove that there was, (1) an intentional unlawful threat by word or act to do violence (2) coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and (3) creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent. Detectives were not able to establish these three elements during the course of their investigation.
As of today, we have spoken to all witnesses and parties who were willing to provide a statement. Additionally, we have reviewed all available videos, canvassed the surrounding neighborhoods, and have determined that no probable cause exists to believe a crime was committed. The investigation into this matter is now closed. This incident should serve as a reminder that when citizens find themselves in a confrontational situation, if able, they should disengage and request law enforcement to respond.
