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Mom Turns In Rock-Throwing, Santa-Hat Hoodlum

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Police arrested 19-year-old Demetrius Vidale of Fort Lauderdale in connection with the Broward County Bus incident. (Source: BSO)

Police arrested 19-year-old Demetrius Vidale of Fort Lauderdale in connection with the Broward County Bus incident. (Source: BSO)

South Florida Crime

LAUDERDALE LAKES (CBSMiami) –A Santa-hat wearing, belligerent bus passenger who hurled a rock at a county bus was arrested and is facing charges, and the person who turned him in was his mother.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, that passenger was identified as 19-year-old Demetrius Vidale of Fort Lauderdale.

Investigators said that two passengers, including Vidale, were picked up before noon on Friday, November 18th at NW 16th Street and 441 in Lauderhill. Both were yelling the word “bitch” on the bus over and over again.

When the driver asked them to stop, they refused and continued with their rude remarks.

The driver eventually stopped the bus and ordered them to exit in the 2600 block of NW 49th Avenue in Lauderdale Lakes.

That’s when Vidale, wearing a Santa-type hat and a red Adidas sweat suit with white stripes, walked to the front of the bus and verbally confronted the driver.

Once off the bus, Vidale picked up a rock and hurled it toward the bus. It hit the front passenger-side windshield which left a large crack in the window.

The entire incident was captured on surveillance video. Watch it here.

The bus driver, 51-year-old Ignacio Gonzalez, told CBS4′s Peter D’Oench that he has been a bus driver for five years and was shocked by the teenager’s behavior.

“In all my experience I have never seen anything like this before,” said Gonzalez. “The teenager with the santa-type cap started cussing and using all sorts of profanity. It was very upsetting. It was upsetting because we have children and their parents and their grandparents who use these buses.”

“Then when he left the bus he picked up a rock and threw it at the windshield,” said Gonzalez. “I was in shock. I had asked him to stop swearing and he would not stop. He just kept on cussing. I stopped the bus and that’s when he came at me. Then he left and picked up the rock.”

“I hope people will recognize him on this tape and call the Broward Sheriffs Office or Broward Crimestoppers,” said Gonzalez. “We need to get him and his friend off the street. Bus safety is our big concern here, the safety of our passengers.”

After the video aired on the news, including CBS4; police received several Crime Stoppers tips, Vidale was identified.

Police said Vidale’s mother also saw him on television and turned him in just after 9 p.m. Thursday.

“The mom was very nice, very polite,” Veda Coleman-Wright of BSO said. “She was obviously very upset seeing her son on TV acting the way that he was.  And basically he responded by telling our detective that he’s dealing with an anger management issue.”

Judge John Hurley said that Vidale has a long criminal record dating back to when he was 16-years-old and that he used racial slurs during his rant.

“You used the term cracker three times, at least three times,” Hurley said. “You know sire, assuming the bus driver is white, that gives the court great concern this could be a racial thing too.”

Vidale faces one count each of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied bus and criminal mischief.

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  • DOMINGO

    im glad that his mother turn him in and proud to say she did a good thing maybe now he will learn a leason but I dont think so no matter how manny times he goes to jail he will never learn nothing hope that the court dont just give him a slap on the hand and send him home let him so sometime ,but they will say that the jail are full will see.

  • unique

    `What a wonderful mother he has. She is not making excuses for him she is trying to make him an adult.
    Way to go MOM.

  • Paula

    Im the proud parent of demetrius vidale my son needs help not people putting him down he a anger kids he human we all have made mistake in our life so lets not be quick to judge him only god can i have been tryin to get my boy help before it got to this stage no one came to my aid now he made the news now people want to talk lets help the black youth instead of talkin about it what are we goin to do to fix the problem the juvn court system is a joke they dont have any program to assist parent with anything they act like the parent commit the crime are you serious so before you pass judgement on my boy know the complete story and it was both our idea he wasnt tryin to run

  • Chet

    GREAT JOB MOM-MAYBE THIS WILL WAKE HIM UP ENOUGH TO PREVENT HIS SOON TO BE OBVIOUS TRIP TO PRISON WITH THE PATH HE WAS CHOOSING !!!

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