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Who is Deandre? Black man SHOVED by Jonathan Pentland ‘doing OK’ as Fort Jackson Sergeant is charged with assault

Deandre was pushed around violently and his phone was slapped out of his hand by 'drunk' Drill Sergeant Jonathan Pentland in Summit, South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: Fort Jackson Drill Sergeant, Jonathan Pentland was caught on camera harassing a Black youth in Summit, South Carolina on Tuesday, April 13.  The video first surfaced on Twitter after an account with the handle @Angry_Staffer posted it on their page after being sent to them to amplify the matter. "'You came to the wrong neighborhood motherf****r," Pentland was heard telling the young man who has been identified as Deandre. 

Minutes after the video was posted, Pentland's name started to trend on Twitter and shortly after he was identified to be associated with the Army. Fort Jackson's Commanding General Brig Gen Milford Beagle Jr was asked to address the situation and he did, announcing that they will investigate the matter and the behavior exhibited by Pentland wasn't condoned. The aggressor was identified but people were concerned about the harassed man and his wellbeing as there was no word about him and how he was coping after dealing with verbal and physical harassment. 

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A couple of hours later, Shirell Johnson who witnessed the incident take place, took to Facebook to clarify a couple of things and within the same post, she also revealed that the person who Pentland harassed was named Deandre. For those wondering Deandre is "doing ok but still processing" and so is the lady who recorded the video and she has been identified as Lady Shadae.

Who is Deandre?

The young Black man seen in the video above has been identified as Deandre. Throughout the ordeal, he was maintaining a calm demeanor and didn't react recklessly even after being pushed around violently. The video began with Pentland asking Deandre to walk away from the neighborhood while implying the latter didn't belong there. Deandre insisted that he was taking a walk and maybe Pentland was new to the neighborhood but the latter just kept reacting with anger. 

At one point he shoved Deandre and yelled expletives at him while the latter kept arguing that he hadn't done anything that warranted the behavior. “Let’s go, walk away,” Pentland said. “I’m about to do something to you. You better start walking right now," he added. Deandre is not a juvenile, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott revealed while addressing the matter. He also said that Deandre had been involved in other incidents in the neighborhood in the days leading up to the video but that "none of them justified the assault" and that Deandre won't be facing any charges. 

Sherill Johnson's post revealed Deandre's phone was slapped out of his hand by Pentland

Sherill and a couple of other onlookers waited with Deandre as the officers arrived on the scene to take care of the incident. "We waited with him until the officer arrived and we repeatedly informed the officer that D was assaulted (you all didn’t see the second instance) when he slapped his hand and his phone fell and cracked. The officer told us that his supervisor told him that he could only charge the white guy with malicious injury to property and not assault!" She also revealed via her post that Pentland had become extremely angry and was yelling the whole time while trying to empower Johnson.

Jonathan Pentland has been charged with second-degree assault

Pentland was charged with third-degree assault and listed as detained in the Richland Count jail and issued a personal recognizance bond, according to online jail records which didn't show him as having an attorney. The US Department of Justice is also investigating the matter. 

Jonathan Pentland's home vandalized

The public outrage and fury against Pentland and his wife, who was also heard making remarks against Deandre in the video, culminated in their house being vandalized. A statement from Richland County Sheriff's Office asked people to stay out of the area as the protests at the Pentland residence had turned violent. "The protests at the Pentland home have become violent. The family was removed after it was vandalized. They were moved to another location and the neighborhood is being closed off except to residents. Please stay out of the area," the tweet read.