Leesburg Teen Arrested for Manslaughter in December Death of Sumter County Boy, 15

TAVARES, Florida—A Leesburg teenager was arrested Friday by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies for his role in the death of a Sumter County boy who was found dead in Bushnell in December.

Jontae Solomon Haywood was reported missing around 1:20 a.m. Dec. 16, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO.) Deputies received information he may have been shot and he was found dead near County Road 557 in Bushnell later the same day. Haywood, an eighth grade student at South Sumter Prep, was just 15 years old.

Haywood enjoyed football, basketball, and fishing; and dreamed of becoming a professional rapper one day, according to his obituary. He enjoyed spending time with his father, was a “very polite and kind young man,” and showed “extreme compassion” to the elderly.

During its investigation, SCSO, found that Trevon Donte Battle, 16, of Leesburg and Tervaris Eugene Jackson Jr., 15, of Bushnell were negligently handling a firearm and it discharged, striking Haywood and killing him. Bradford Nethercot, 70, was “present during the incident and did not make any attempt to intervene to prevent the death of Jontae Haywood,” SCSO said in a press release.

Battle was arrested Friday by LCSO on the Sumter County warrant for aggravated manslaughter, improper disposal of human remains, possession of a firearm by a person under 18 and failure to report a death. He was booked into the Lake County Jail.

Jackson and Nethercot were both arrested by SCSO and booked into the Sumter County Jail. Jackson is facing the same charges as Battle— aggravated manslaughter, improper disposal of human remains, possession of a firearm by a person under 18 and failure to report a death. Nethercot is facing several charges, including child neglect with great bodily harm, three counts contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

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