Resident angry at ding-dong ditching chases kids down in car, Florida cops say
Three kids playing a ding-dong ditch prank in a southwest Florida neighborhood ended up getting chased down and nearly hit by one resident in a car, authorities said.
The driver, identified as 51-year-old John Albanos, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, Collier County records show.
An 11-year-old and two 12-year-olds were knocking on doors then running away the evening of July 12 when Albanos got upset by their ding-dong ditching, according to an arrest affidavit from the Naples Police Department.
He’s accused of leaving his house, getting in his car and chasing the kids.
The trio said they hopped on their scooters as Albanos pursued them, yelled at them and swerved toward them, police said.
“All three victims said they had to move out of the way multiple times in fear of getting hit by the car,” officers wrote in the affidavit.
Another resident heard yelling and went outside to see a driver chasing kids on scooters, he told police. He saw Albanos make a U-turn and speed toward them again, pursuing them as they went into a driveway to get away, the witness and kids told police.
The resident tried to distract Albanos so he would leave the kids alone, but he said Albanos “started yelling at him and turned the vehicle towards him,” officers wrote.
After the resident’s wife went out and said she had called 911, Albanos drove off, the witnesses recalled.
When investigators spoke with Albanos, “He stated he wanted to put the fear of God into the victims but said he didn’t want to actually hit the victims with his vehicle,” according to the report.
The parents of two of the kids wanted to press charges, police said.