Four teens caught breaking into cars at Villages at Oakleaf 

OAKLEAF – Four teens were arrested after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office caught them breaking into cars at the Villages at Oakleaf apartments on Monday, Dec. 15. 

Mark Antonio Beasley, 19, Jelani Nathaniel Wright, 18, Tyler Cortez Owens, 18, and Makylan Jerome Reeves, 18, all from Orange Park, were charged with armed burglary after deputies also discovered Beasley and Owens with handguns. 

According to the arrest report, residents of the complex were asked to identify property taken from their vehicles. One found a gaming controller on one of the teens, which led to their arrests. 

Bonds for Wright and Reeves were set at $25,003, while Beasley and Owens were set at $50,003 because of the weapons. 

Keystone man arrested for striking two deputies, robbing home 

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A 35-year-old man was arrested after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said he struck two deputies after he was caught robbing a house on Saturday, Dec. 13. 

Sean Michael Haddix, of Keystone Heights, was charged with burglary and two counts of battery on specified personnel after CCSO deputies arrived at a home on Golf Street shortly before noon. 

According to the arrest report, a deputy caught Haddix robbing the home a day after he was evicted from it. Haddix responded by kicking one deputy and striking another. 

One of the deputies needed treatment and a CT scan at HCA Florida Middleburg. 

Haddix will be back in court on Jan. 20. His bond was set at $25,009. 

CCSO: Nurse battered by patient at Orange Park Hospital 

ORANGE PARK – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged a patient at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital with striking an Emergency Room nurse on Thursday, Dec. 11. 

Matthew Aaron Ferst, 36, of Jacksonville, was charged with battery on a specified person after a nurse said she was battered by Ferst while working in the ER. Another nurse confirmed her story. 

When the deputy attempted to talk with Ferst, the defendant responded by making an obscene hand gesture. 

Ferst’s bond was set at $25,003. 

Jacksonville man arrested for shoplifting at several Home Depots 

ORANGE PARK – A Jacksonville man was transported from the Duval County Jail on Thursday, Dec. 11, to face multiple shoplifting charges at “multiple Home Depots across Clay County,” according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. 

Marcus James Lang, 30, was charged with five counts of grand theft. He’s also accused of stealing from 13 Home Depot stores in Duval and St. Johns counties. 

Lang’s bond was set at $125,015. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan.  6.

CCSO, Fire Marshal investigating fatal Lake Asbury house fire 

LAKE ASBURY – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the accidental death of a man, while the State Fire Marshal is looking into the cause of a house fire on Friday, Dec. 12. 

John M. Griffiths died at the scene after the interior of his home at 3093 Byron Road, at the Black Creek and Henley Road, quickly became fully involved in flames shortly before 3 p.m. His mother-in-law, who wasn’t identified, was transported to UF Health Shands Burn Unit in Gainesville with critical injuries, Clay County Fire Rescue said. 

CCFR responded to an unrelated call an hour earlier for his wife, Mattie Jo. It’s not clear whether she was at home at the time of the fire. 

While no official cause of the fires has been determined, family members and neighbors said Griffiths was repeatedly warned not to smoke while using oxygen. One neighbor reported hearing an explosion before seeing the home on fire, which made the smoking with the use of an oxygen tank a “plausible” cause. 

The investigations are continuing.