Bodycam footage shows moments after "ding dong ditch" prank ended with kids' assault in Queen Creek

Bodycam footage shows moments after “ding dong ditch” prank ended with kids’ assault in Queen Creek in 2018

A year after two juveniles were allegedly assaulted by a Queen Creek man after they rang his doorbell and ran away as a prank, FOX 10 has obtained body camera video that was taken during the police call. FOX 10's Justin Lum reports.

QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. - A year after two juveniles were allegedly assaulted by a Queen Creek man after they rang his doorbell and ran away as a prank, FOX 10 has obtained body camera video that was taken during the police call.

The incident happened during a birthday party, when a group of boys were going door to door, ringing bells and then taking off. Now, 22-year-old Johnathan Larocque is in a Safford prison, serving a six-year sentence. Investigators say he beat one of the boys so badly that the boy suffered a concussion and a broken nose.

"We 'ding dong ditched'," said one of the boys, in a 911 call. "We rang this guy's doorbell and we hid, and he came out and he started beating our friends, and I think he knocked out one of our friends."

Deputies then rush to the Queen Creek neighborhood, located near Ellsworth and Riggs Roads. The newly-released bodycam video shows the moments after a group of boys called 911 in a panic.

"All of a sudden, this guy starts raging, cussing at us, punching me in the back of the head, and then freakin' we just ran," said one of the boys in the bodycam video.

Deputies interviewed three of the four boys, who claimed Larocque hurt their friend badly. 13-year-old Naidem went to the hospital with a concussion and a broken nose.

Larocque then tells his side of the story. Deputies say he thought the kids tried to break into his girlfriend's car before he ran after them.

"I hit one and I hit the other over, like, near the bush," said Larocque, in the bodycam video.

"So, did you have them at that point, or were they just running from you?" asked a deputy.

"They were running," Larocque replied.

"You were just throwing haymakers at them?" asked a deputy.

"Yeah," Larocque replied.

"Do you remember maybe how many you hit?" asked a deputy.

"I hit two of them. Two of them," Larocque replied.

"In the back of their head or in the front?" asked a deputy.

"No, in the side," Larocque replied.

Deputies arrested Larocque on two counts of aggravated assault. Bodycam video also shows deputies taking Larocque into processing.

"The bottom line is that I know it sucks, but they were 13, you know what I mean? And because you assaulted a 13-year-old, I know that in your mind at the time you thought you were justified in doing that, and those kids weren't big either. Those were pretty tiny kids right?" said a deputy.

According to the incident report, MCSO investigators never found evidence of a car break-in.