MINNEOLA, Fla. — A Lake County sheriff’s deputy shot a teen in the foot early Thursday after mistaking the teen’s cellphone for a gun, according to a probable cause affidavit released Friday.
Terell Johnson, 17, was arrested Thursday while being treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Herrell said. Johnson is expected to fully recover.
Deputies were called to Cumberland Circle around 3:45 a.m. for a car burglary in progress. A resident reported seeing a person dressed in black and wearing a ski mask near vehicles on home security footage. A responding deputy found Johnson rummaging through a green BMW, and Johnson ran when the deputy got out of his patrol vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The deputy lost sight of Johnson near a white fence, returned to his patrol vehicle to reposition and resumed the chase on foot. According to the affidavit, Johnson came around the fence to retrieve a backpack and a motorcycle-style e-bike he had left behind. Johnson pointed the illuminated phone directly at the deputy, who believed it was a gun and fired, striking Johnson in the foot.
A bodycam clip released by the sheriff’s office shows a brief light in the darkness before Johnson comes into view on the grass. The footage does not clearly show what he was holding or how he held it.
At the hospital, Johnson told deputies he had entered the BMW twice and lost his e-bike keys while running from the deputy. He said he turned on his phone’s flashlight to look for the keys and encountered the deputy, according to the affidavit.
Johnson was arrested for burglary of an unoccupied conveyance while wearing a mask, attempted burglary of a conveyance while wearing a mask and resisting an officer without violence. The attempted burglary allegation involves a Toyota Corolla on the same street. The owners of both cars reported nothing missing, and the BMW owner told investigators he did not wish to prosecute.
No deputies were injured. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, and the deputy was placed on administrative leave pending an internal review. Both are standard procedure.
