An intoxicated Ohio couple allegedly pushed into a family's cabin aboard a cruise ship and struck two adults and a 9-year-old child, landing both suspects in a Brevard County jail on felony charges.
Gannon Jacox, 29, and Brooklyn Hicks, 28, were arrested Saturday evening at Port Canaveral, Florida, after the ship returned to dock. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey laid out the allegations in a Facebook post from the sheriff's office, describing the pair's conduct in blunt terms.
Jacox faces charges of burglary with battery and child abuse without great bodily harm. Hicks faces burglary with battery and battery-touch/strike. Jail records show Jacox held on $31,000 bond and Hicks on $6,000.
The sequence, as Ivey described it, started with a disturbance. The couple was "apparently arguing loudly after taking advantage of some adult beverages" aboard an unidentified cruise ship. A fellow passenger, one of two adults traveling with a 9-year-old, asked them to keep it down.
That request did not go well. Rather than comply, the couple allegedly confronted the victim outside the family's cabin door, then pushed their way inside the room.
What followed, the New York Post reported, was a physical altercation involving all five people in the cabin. Ivey wrote that Jacox struck all three victims, both adults and the child. Hicks, he said, contributed her own swings.
Ivey's description of Hicks's role was characteristically colorful:
"As a fight ensued Jacox ends up hitting all 3 people (including the child) and Hicks was just swinging, hoping one would land."
None of the family members were reported seriously injured. Jacox, on the other hand, walked away with what Ivey called "a pretty gross injury to his eye." The sheriff noted the cause was uncertain, it came either from one of the victims defending themselves or from what he called "friendly fire from the Haymakers his girlfriend was throwing."
Ivey, who has a reputation for direct public messaging, used the incident to issue a broader warning. He pinned the blame squarely on alcohol and poor judgment:
"It's for sure the alcohol combined with an apparent lack of common sense!!"
He followed up with a message aimed at anyone considering similar behavior in his jurisdiction:
"The moral of the story...if you can't hold your liquor, then you definitely shouldn't be out in public causing a scene like this and injuring random people including a child!!"
And for anyone who missed the point:
"And if that memo is not clear enough for you then you might want to stay your b*** out of Brevard County!!"
Ivey closed with a line he has used before in public posts about arrests in his county: "You know the deal folks, break the law in Brevard County and I promise you the lodge will have a reservation with your name on it!!"
Port Canaveral's cruise ship schedule showed four vessels docked on Saturday: Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas, Disney's Disney Treasure, and two Carnival ships, the Mardi Gras and the Carnival Freedom. Which ship the couple sailed on has not been identified. The port sits roughly 40 miles east of Orlando.
No details have emerged about whether crew members intervened during the altercation or whether the victims required medical treatment beyond what was described. The identities of the two adult victims and the child have not been released. It is also unclear whether Jacox or Hicks have retained attorneys or entered pleas.
The charge sheet matters here. Burglary with battery is not a misdemeanor bar fight. Under Florida law, it involves unlawfully entering a dwelling, in this case, allegedly forcing into a family's private cabin, and committing a battery inside. The charge against Jacox for child abuse without great bodily harm adds a second layer: a 9-year-old was allegedly struck during the incident.
The bond disparity between the two suspects reflects the difference in charges. Jacox's $31,000 bond accounts for the child abuse count. Hicks's $6,000 bond corresponds to the battery-touch/strike charge alongside the shared burglary count. Both were booked into Brevard County Jail on Saturday evening.
A family on vacation asked a loud couple to quiet down. For that, police say, they got their cabin door forced open and their child hit. If the charges hold, a noise complaint turned into a felony, and two adults who allegedly couldn't handle their liquor may now face years of consequences for a few minutes of recklessness.
