Gainesville man arrested for threatening to kill 14-year-old neighbor
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Derrien Derrell Brockington II, 23, was arrested yesterday and charged with making a written threat to kill after allegedly threatening to kill a 14-year-old neighbor if the neighbor returned to his own apartment.
The arresting Gainesville Police Department officer reported that on March 17, Brockington made several explicit threats via Instagram voice messages to harm and kill the victim, who is 14 years old. Brockington allegedly warned the victim that he would be waiting for him if he returned to his own apartment, which is in the same complex where Brockington lives (the address of the apartment complex is redacted in the report). Brockington also allegedly sent the victim a picture of a handgun and wrote that he should have shot him when he had the chance.
Post Miranda, Brockington reportedly admitted that he sent death threats to the victim, but he said he wasn’t serious about harming the victim.
Brockington has two adult felony convictions (one violent) and has served two state prison sentences (both for the same initial charge because he violated probation after being released from the first prison sentence), with his most recent release in January 2024. Judge Kristine Van Vorst ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.Â
Law enforcements spends entirely too many resources in these government housing complexes/neighborhoods. Regular people of all stripes pay mandatory taxes to house them, to feed them, to police them, and to imprison them. I’m getting sick and tired of it. Welfare was supposed to be a short term life raft for those in need — it’s become a way of life for way too many as well as a political voting base.
I have zero respect for any person who abuses welfare and for the politicians that promote it.
We are all at the mercy of the bottom quintile. The rules you must follow are based on the behavior of the bottom quintile, the taxes you pay are to support the bottom quintile, the greatest risks to your life and property are from the bottom quintile, the dearth of comfortable public spaces are because we have to allow the bottom quintile to be there, our zoning laws are developed to escape the bottom quintile.
Probably best to learn and accept this.
You sir have nailed it. Never thought in all my years this nation would bend to such low depths to appease the low life quintile we now cater to. Everything is butt backwards in society. Sad!
Godda give ya, “quintile” is a great way to say what you had to say.
First of all, there is no such thing as welfare anymore. There is tanf, which is not a long term program. A family can only be on that program for 4 years and they have to be working, going to school, or volunteering. Finally, we should be advocating for mental health programs, Parenting classes and gun control. Kids and people get guns like going to a candy store.
Ms Hill, some of your points are well taken. Mental health is definitely a huge and growing problem. Much more needs to be done in this area.
However, we need to also recognize that some people are just bad and come from bad families, kind of like gangster families, which is what they model themselves after. This kind of person will always get guns. History shows that removing firearms leaves law abiding citizens defenseless while emboldening the bad guys.
Ann, look up the word welfare in a dictionary if you really think it doesn’t exist. It exists and it is massively abused. I’m not against short term welfare, I’m against the current implementation of it.
SSI is still welfare. To get it there is no real qualification .
I know of 5 people who are single,no kids, no work history,and don’t seek work, who’s only qualification is they just finished serving long prison sentences. 13-40 years. And now receive $910. A month, plus food stamps. Call it what you want, it is still welfare, and working people still pay for it
Good headline would be “Man with Home Arrested for Death Threat”.
Piece of work. He doesnt get along with human beings well looking at his past history. Maybe a family trait picked up from dad.
Probably didn’t have a dad.
who dat be?
Brockingtons are bad news in town. Another one bites it again.
Great way to celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenff….
Threatening a minor, and in writing too. He should be charged with ” dumb” as well.
Some people just ask to go to jail.