MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies have revealed new details and footage surrounding the death of Giovanni Pelletier, an 18-year-old from North Carolina who was found dead in a Manatee County retention pond.

During a press conference Tuesday morning, Sheriff Rick Wells recounted the night Pelletier went missing on Friday, Aug. 1 while riding along I-75 with his cousin and other friends after picking him up in Charlotte County. They were heading to Brevard County.

Wells said the group began smoking marijuana in the car, to which Pelletier had a bad reaction too.

The car eventually stopped after Pelletier’s cousin said he was acting out and started “raging” before eventually getting back in the car, deputies said. 

Another one of the cousins’ friends told authorities that Pelletier said to them, “I am a demon, and I will wreck this car.” He was also making threats to them that he would kill them all as he was trying to open the door to the vehicle. 

Pelletier also reportedly had a knife on him at the time but did not use it in this incident.

The car pulled over again on I-75 in Manatee County before Pelletier got out and began running on the southbound lanes while almost getting hit by an oncoming truck. This would be the last time Pelletier’s cousin and his friends would see him.

The cousin called Pelletier’s mother, Bridgette, at around 2:30 a.m., but she didn’t answer at the time.

The group continued driving and eventually made it to Brevard County. The cousin called Bridgette again just before 7 a.m. to which she answered, and he was able to explain what happened.

Bridgette then called 911 to ask for a wellness check where her son left the vehicle on I-75. 

Nothing was found at the scene, but she was tracking her son’s phone and noticed it was moving to Tampa. Wells said a truck driver saw a backpack and a cell phone in that area and picked them up before heading to Tampa.

Authorities tracked down the driver who gave the items to them and confirmed it was the missing boy’s property. Then, law enforcement opened a missing persons case. 

Pelletier’s body was later found in the retention pond on Friday, Aug. 8 and was identified as his the following day.

During the news conference, MCSO showed new footage from cameras that shows how Pelletier ended up near the area of a retention pond.

The traffic camera shows Pelletier attempting to cross the highway near where his cousin said he got out of the car before falling towards an embankment.

Another camera from a nearby Lowe’s showed Pelletier running down the embankment very fast before he could no longer be seen on camera.

Deputies said they still don’t know what happened when he reached the pond.

“There’s no one in this area with Giovanni,” Sheriff Wells said. “There’s no one that’s chasing him. He’s by himself.”

Authorities are still awaiting an official cause of death and a toxicology report. No charges have been made in this case.