Stabbing suspect says fight over graduation tickets
November 17th, 2008 by Ana X. CeronBefore she was handcuffed and transported to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect in the stabbings at Martin County High gave her side of the story to a local television station.
Melanie Mitchell
STUART — Melanie Mitchell says she never stabbed anyone at Martin County High School on Friday night.
Before being handcuffed and taken to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell, 21, sat with Channel 12 and The Palm Beach Post to talk about that night’s melee involving 30 people.
Mitchell said today that she wanted to tell her side of the story before she was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a weapon.
Mitchell was the suspect that sheriff’s investigators were looking for since Friday night in connection with the stabbing that ended with five females – ages 16 to 20 – wounded.
The incident was the latest in a rivalry between a group of former friends, Mitchell and investigators said today.
Mitchell said she was at the school with friends and a cousin when a group of females followed her to her car. As she tried to get away, Mitchell said they taunted her and her friends. Then one of the followers pulled out a weapon and began slashing people, Mitchell said.
“I was basically running from everything,” Mitchell said.
That included sheriff’s deputies. When Mitchell found out that authorities were at her parents’ home after the fight broke out, she said she ran away.
During an interview today, Mitchell said she was afraid that investigators wouldn’t believe her side of the story. She said she waited until Monday because she wanted to reach out to the media before talking with deputies.
A Martin sheriff’s office spokeswoman said investigators were still working the case and interviewing witnesses.
Injured in the incident were Nikita R. Cotton, 20; Ashley Q. Davis, 18; Precious Davis, 16; Shakerria Boggs, 18; and Shana E. Simmons, 18, all of Stuart.
They were all treated at local hospitals for their injuries and have been released, sheriff’s officials said.
Mitchell said she and Cotton have been fighting since last year. The argument sparked over tickets for Mitchell’s graduation ceremony at Martin County High School, she said.
A mother of one of the victims, who requested that her name not be publicized, confirmed the fight was over graduation tickets.
“It’s stupid,” she said. “People can’t believe it.”
In February, Mitchell and another woman were arrested on aggravated battery charges in another incident involving Cotton. Mitchell was accused of helping to attack Cotton with a knife. The charges were later dropped, with prosecutors saying they didn’t have witnesses to give statements about what happened.
Cotton later filed a domestic violence injunction against Mitchell and the other woman.
Staff researcher Niels Heimeriks contributed to this story.
~ana_ceron@pbpost.com
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November 17th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
agreed
November 17th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
This girl has been in the news before for the same thing shame on her
November 18th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Did I read this correctly? She’s 21 years old and just graduating from HIGH SCHOOL? An adult (at least in age) just doesn’t belong there at all.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:34 am
This has nothing to do with the color of her skin. She’s an ignorant idiot and does not represent the “average” black woman.
Graduating high school at 20 and 21??? What the hell is wrong with the school system in South Florida?
November 18th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Last Spring, a group of 6 or 7 Caucasian “cheerleaders” attacked a “friend” that had made some negative remarks about them on the internet…they beat her (battery), punching her in her head until she passed out, would not let her leave the home (kidnapping), threatened her, and taped it and were going to put it on youtube or myspace until their intentions became known and they were arrested…as they sat in their holding cells, they asked “Is this going to make me late for cheerleading practice?”
Can we please recognize that “flying off the handle” is not an act that is reserved only for a certain race? Can we instead attribute this to humans whose judgment is obviously impaired and make a bad name for themselves and not for the entire race? When you make generalizations like the ones above, it shows just how much you are not in tune with the rest of the world around you. There are always going to be people that do bad things, they are not pre-disposed to it because they are a certain race.
Please try to get more exposure…my suggestions would be watching the news, or reading the newspaper (Palm Beach Post, Miami Herald, New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tallahassee Democrat…they all have websites)to start, then you will learn about more issues that affect our communities and who’s doing what.
On the other hand…21 and just graduating? That is something to be concerned about!
November 18th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
why does everybody comment on the color of someones’ skin immediately. i am soooooo sick of it. when will people move on from this….NEVER? PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS ACT IGNORANT, AND CRIMES ARE COMMITTED EVERY DAY BY PEOPLE OF ALL COLORS. Get over it already
November 18th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
“What the hell is wrong with the school system in South Florida?”
people are always so quick to blame the school system. How about this girls parents or lack thereof? We need to start taking serious action against the parents of problem children, wether it be academic or behaviorial.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thank you : KC, Come on People & JT
The color of a person’s skin has nothing ..absolutely nothing to do with their character, abilities, morals and or the acts that they commit. It is all about CHOICES.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
It is not the school system!!!! It is the individual… Both of my kids work very hard and pay attention in class… They both earned all A’s and 1 B on there report cards… My son is 17 and a senior in High School… He has 3 full boat ride Academic Scholarship offers for Florida Universities!!!!! If you do not instill a certain level of respect for yourself you will never accomplish or be good at anything!!!! It is the parents fault for there daughter being in High School at the age of 21!!! I really think it is very funny how there daughter is a complete failure!!! I would imagine thet she comes from being born out of wedlock and probably has no idea who her father is…..
November 18th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
“say what?”:
You are not as diversified as you think, and it’s sad that you would say it’s a “cultural” thing. Remember that you can find the same type of activity in neighborhoods, especially the rough ones, that have people of every ethnic origin.
I have grown up with and are surrounded by plenty african-american females daily, both in a social as well as plenty professional settings, and none of them have ever “flown of the handle” or gotten “Very Loud, repeating themselves…and assuming things”…That’s very ignorant of you, lol.
Until any of us has the opportunity to immerse ourselves within a culture from every aspect, with every social status/socio-economic status and ethnicity (and there are plenty), none of us have the right to judge a whole cohort of a race…educate yourselves, then speak.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
“Come on people” You are without a doubt a LIAR!!!! You can not tell me thet you have surrounded yourself with BLACK FEMALES most of your life and never once witnessed any of them fly off the handle!!! YOU ARE A LIAR!!!! Sorry to say it so bluntly but I am one to speak my mind….
November 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Sorry rebel. Black females do not have the patent on flying off the handle. I have seen women of different cultural backgrounds fly off the handle. “come on people” named one of many few instances where a caucasian woman lost it! Have anyone watched Snapped???
Lets not categorized each other based on the color of our skin. This society needs to get to the point where skin color is treated no different than hair color. Lets embrace the fact that we are all American!!!
Regardless of which, this woman is crazy. What can we expect from a 21 year old high school student? Also, her actions are not reflective of my African American wife, mother, or sister.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Excuse me “Rebel”, don’t fly off the handle (pun intended).
(Although I can see how what I said could be misinterpreted…)I was talking about the women that I am surrounded by NOW in both social and professional settings. Calm down…
The bigger point is that you can not generalize like that. Even if EVERY A/A woman I encounter on a regular basis fits the stereotype given above, that’s still a 1-millioneth of the entire black, female population.
If you don’t get that, then you have bigger fish to fry than what we’re debating here.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
where are the parents?
November 21st, 2008 at 6:57 am
PLEASE DO BETTER ITS TIME FOR CHANGE