In the early hours today, Rakeem Lizel Calhoun, aged 37, found himself in police custody following a series of troubling events in Gainesville, Florida. Accusations against him include the theft of his girlfriend’s vehicle, physical assault, and the confiscation of her cell phone. To complicate matters further, Calhoun allegedly attempted to evade capture by tuning into a police scanner.
The incident unfolded on the evening of November 27. According to an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy, a disagreement between Calhoun and his girlfriend erupted inside her car. Calhoun reportedly began striking the dashboard, prompting the woman to pull over into a parking lot. As she exited the vehicle, Calhoun allegedly seized her, taking both her wallet and phone. He then purportedly threatened to crash the car before driving off with it.
Surveillance footage corroborated the deputy’s account, capturing the moment when Calhoun allegedly assaulted the victim. Meanwhile, deputies working to locate Calhoun discovered he was monitoring police communications via a scanner, likely in an attempt to sidestep law enforcement.
After being taken into custody and informed of his rights, Calhoun reportedly confessed to commandeering the car and making threats about crashing it. He also admitted to taking the victim’s phone, although he denied any physical altercation with her.
While deputies were searching for Calhoun, they learned that he was listening to police scanner radio traffic to avoid apprehension.
Post Miranda, Calhoun reportedly admitted to taking the car and saying he would crash it; he also reportedly admitted to snatching the victim’s phone, but he denied “being physical” with the victim.
Calhoun has been charged with unarmed carjacking, depriving a victim of communication with law enforcement, battery with a previous battery conviction, using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony, and using information from police radio communications to avoid apprehension.
Calhoun has also been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment after the victim reported a separate incident on the same date; the victim said Calhoun implied he had firearms in the car and told her he would kill her if she got out of the car.
Calhoun’s full criminal history is unavailable, but he has extensive convictions in Putnam County, going back to 2006. Three sworn complaints have been filed against him in Alachua County since September 2024, including allegations of robbery, robbery by sudden snatching, and an aggravated battery that left the victim with broken facial bones, but all of the charges were later dropped.
Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
