A stolen car crash by three youths ignites a fire at a Northside furniture store causing $25,000 in damage
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Northside business owner is facing thousands of dollars in damage after police say two teenagers and a 12-year-old crashed a stolen car into his furniture store, sparking a fire.
The crash happened Sunday at the Furniture Mattress Depot on Dunn Avenue. Police say the stolen vehicle slammed into the front of the building before catching fire.
Now, instead of customers, the store is filled with broken glass and debris. The owner, who spoke to First Coast News off-camera, says repairs will cost more than $25,000.
“I’m sorry for what happened to the business owner, you know, that they’ve got to fix up their place and all like that,” said Donald Foy, President, MAD DADS Jacksonville
Community advocate Donald Foy says cases like this often start with what’s happening at home. He spent more than a decade working with young offenders at the Duval County Jail.
“I work with these young people like this for 11 years on the sixth floor of the jail, the ones that have been certified as adults. So I mean, I work with them, had much more serious charges than this,” said Foy.
In a statement, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office urged parents to get involved, writing: “This group made a choice — and now they’ll face the consequences.”
Foy says mentoring programs and community support can make a real difference.
“To become a mentor for these young people and to work with them through basketball, for them to learn discipline and character,” said Foy
The owner tells First Coast News he doesn’t know how he’ll raise the money to repair the damage but hopes the community will step in to help. A GoFundMe has been launched in support.