A battle for a framed UF Gator photograph landed one Gainesville man in jail and another in the hospital.
Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Willie Irving, 36, of 3205 SW 26th Way, after he punched his co-worker in the face, according to an ASO arrest report.
At about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Irving and the victim, 32-year-old Michael Parris, finished work at a house they were remodeling when they began to argue about the abandoned photograph, which they found earlier in the house.
Irving claimed the picture belonged to him and walked to Parris’ truck to retrieve it.
Parris warned him that he would “lay a hand” on Irving if he touched his truck, according to the report.
Irving then punched Parris in the face, which knocked him to the ground and broke his jaw.
Irving apologized to Parris, jumped into his car and drove away, according to the report, and
an ambulance took Parris to Shands at UF.
Meanwhile, deputies located Irving at his home and questioned him about what happened.
Irving told police he punched Parris in self-defense, according to the report.
Police arrested Irving on an aggravated battery charge and later booked him into the Alachua County Jail.
As of Wednesday night, Irving remained in jail with a $25,000 bond.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
