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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Local man recovered after being hit with a car in O’Connell Center parking lot

A police service technician is unharmed after getting hit with a car in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center parking lot Friday morning.

At about 9 a.m., Bellman Gibson, Jr., was monitoring the O’Connell Center parking lot when Richard Batchelor, 27, reportedly struck him with a yellow Ford Focus, according to a University Police report.

Batchelor entered the parking lot — closed for New Student Convocation — by speeding past two officers before Gibson stopped him, according to the report.

Gibson directed him to turn around, but Batchelor reportedly said, "I do not have time for this," and requested a supervisor, according to the report.

Batchelor then drove forward and hit the technician’s knee, according to the report. Though Gibson thought it was a mistake and stepped back, Batchelor drove forward and hit him again, according to the report.

Police arrested Batchelor on a charge of aggravated battery on an education employee and was released from the Alachua County Jail on his own recognizance Saturday.

Batchelor, a staff member in the department of religion in the College of Liberal Sciences, did not respond to requests for comment.

"These police service technicians directing this traffic do so for public safety," said UPD spokesman Major Brad Barber.

"That should not have happened."

A similar incident occurred June 5 when campus police arrested 29-year-old Patrece Breon Middleton for striking a Police Service Technician with her Toyota Camry.

Update — June 24, 2016: 

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UF's Student Conduct Committee did not find Batchelor responsible for failing to comply with a directive or for causing harm to any person, according to a Dec. 10, 2015, letter sent to Batchelor by the Division of Student Affairs.

The charge of aggravated battery was dropped on Jan. 25, according to Alachua County court records.


Police arrest man visiting from Peru on sexual assault, false imprisonment charges

Gainesville Police arrested a man visiting from Peru on Monday after he reportedly sexually assaulted a female acquaintance several times Saturday and prevented her from leaving.

After flying into Miami, Jorge Andres Ruiz Sanchez, 25, arrived in Gainesville at about 1 a.m. Saturday to visit his acquaintance, according to an arrest report.

After sleeping over at her house, Ruiz Sanchez tried to talk about having a relationship with the woman. She said she didn’t want a relationship, and he pinned her to the bed and assaulted her, according to the report.

When the woman tried to leave, Ruiz Sanchez reportedly put his hand around her neck and strangled her multiple times, according to the report.

Ruiz Sanchez later sent apologetic text messages to the woman, saying he was embarrassed and was going to kill himself, according to the report.

The woman then gave Sanchez a ride back to his hotel, located at 5505 SW 41st Blvd, where he asked her to accompany him to his room. He then reportedly locked the door, physically preventing her from leaving the room, and said, "You have to do everything I say or you can’t leave," according to the report.

The woman eventually rushed out of the room and escaped, according to the report.

On Sunday morning, Sanchez reportedly left his hotel and walked until he got to the woman’s apartment and called 911 because he was lost and having a panic attack, according to the report.

Police booked Sanchez into the Alachua County Jail on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping, where he remains as of press time in lieu of a $50,000 bond.


 

Police identify gun used in Sorority Row robbery as air gun

University Police identified the gun used in a robbery on Sorority Row last week as a black air gun.

Initial reports said Anthony Showell, 24, reportedly held a handgun to 20-year-old Kyle Smith’s head as Smith was walking to Campus View Apartments about midnight Aug. 17. Showell reportedly held the gun while the other man took Smith’s wallet and cell phone and ran away, according to an arrest report.

Showell then held the gun against Smith’s head and asked him for his car keys and any other possessions, threatening to shoot Smith in the head if he didn’t listen, according to the report. Smith refused, and Showell ran away, according to the report.

Police arrested Showell later that night, and found the air gun in his backpack.

While Showell was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and robbery with a firearm, police are still looking for the second robber.

UPD spokesman Major Brad Barber said this was a crime of opportunity rather than a specific target.

"Anything that can happen anywhere, can happen here," he said. "We just want to make sure that the community members out there are certainly aware of that."

As of press time, Showell remained in the Alachua County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

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