GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — More than a week later and still no arrests have been announced in the case of 19-year-old Trenton Lehrkamp, who police say was assaulted.
Glynn County Interim Police Chief O’Neal Jackson said in a news conference on Wednesday that all nine teens in a picture showing Lehrkamp tied up and spray-painted have been identified.
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Lehrkamp is now out of the ICU. His family released the following statement, which Jackson read on Wednesday:
“Trent is beginning next steps of care and asks for continued prayers. Family is in full cooperation of investigation. They want justice and prevent this from happening to anyone else in the future.”
But Jackson said that won’t happen overnight and his department is still interviewing people and processing evidence.
RELATED: Report: Trenton Lehrkamp’s blood alcohol level 6 times legal limit in assault
Eleven teens in a video, which shows Lehrkamp being sprayed with a hose in what police say is a separate incident, have also been identified. Some of the kids were involved in both incidents.
Jackson said it takes more than just this evidence to press charges. The case has gone viral on social media, with calls for justice for Lehrkamp growing louder in the community.
This is the first time Jackson has spoken out since the incident last Tuesday.
RELATED: ‘Justice is what we are seeking:’ Support growing for Glynn County young man fighting for his life
“If we could just make a case based off one single photo or one single video without getting any other type of evidence, then that would not be a proper or thorough investigation,” he said.
Investigators from GCPD and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are working together to gather more information.
Read the full message Jackson shared during the news conference below:
Action News Jax told you Monday about a Glynn County Police report that revealed new details from Tuesday, March 21, the night that Lehrkamp was taken to the hospital.
Hospital staff told police that Lehrkamp’s blood alcohol level was at 0.464% and that he “could not breathe independently, so they had to sedate him and put him on a ventilator.”
We told you Sunday that police are conducting a criminal investigation into the incident.
RELATED: Police conducting criminal investigation of incident that left teen hospitalized in Glynn County
The police report initially listed the incident as “hazing,” but Jackson said Wednesday that the incident does not meet Georgia’s code for hazing because it does not relate to a public school.
Police said that Lehrkamp’s father told them Tuesday, March 21 that whenever Lehrkamp goes over to his friend’s house, whose name was redacted from the police report, “he never returns home normal.”
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Lehrkamp’s father also told the officer about an incident on Fri., Mar. 17, where Lehrkamp “came home covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint.”
A Gofundme for Trent can be found HERE.
Action News Jax’s Robert Grant will have the very latest updates on this case on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax at 5.
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