Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 54-year-old man who had been released from prison earlier this month was arrested Thursday night after police say he attacked and choked a female relative who had picked him up to spend time with him.
Gainesville Police Department officers were called at about 9:51 p.m. on August 15 to Pinewood Apartments at 4151 NW 43rd Street. According to the victim, she had picked up Larry James Fayson Jr. around 9 p.m. because he had recently been released from prison on August 5 and she wanted to visit with him. She told officers the situation turned tense during the drive to her apartment, where the argument continued. Once they arrived, Fayson allegedly tackled her outside the apartment. After being pushed down, she said she threw her keys at him, and he then forced her inside and shut the door behind her.
Inside the apartment, the victim told police, Fayson ordered her to sit on the couch while he yelled at her. She said he took her phone and hurled it into a wall, damaging the device and leaving a visible dent. Fayson also allegedly made her remove her shoes and told her she was not allowed to leave.
The victim said Fayson later removed his shirt. When she asked him to get dressed because she felt uncomfortable, he refused and accused her of treating him like another man who had tried to sleep with her, according to the report. She said he then picked up a bottle of alcohol, and when she told him he did not need to drink, he screamed that he would kill her.
Police said Fayson allegedly slapped the woman in the face several times, leaving her lip bleeding, and slammed her into multiple objects inside the apartment. A responding officer described the room as being in disarray, with belongings scattered throughout the unit. Fayson also allegedly slammed the victim’s head into a wall, and the officer noted plaster dust in her hair.
When the victim attempted to escape, Fayson allegedly grabbed her and choked her until she lost consciousness. She told police she woke up face down on the floor. An officer reported seeing several blood stains on the floor that appeared consistent with the injury to the victim’s lip.
Fayson then allegedly forced the victim back onto the couch and continued shouting at her. Police said that when he eventually went into the kitchen, she tried to run out the front door. Officers had arrived moments earlier and reported hearing screaming and a loud slap before the door suddenly opened and the victim ran outside, with Fayson following behind her. Officers separated the two and detained Fayson at the scene.
Post Miranda, Fayson reportedly said the victim picked him up, they both had something to drink, and they started arguing; he said the argument escalated when the victim threw her keys at him. He said she was acting “erratic,” so he held her in a headlock on the couch. He said the victim acted “weird” when he took his shirt off, and when she asked him to put it back on, he became angry because she was treating him like another man who was trying to sleep with her. When an officer asked why he would think she was concerned that he would try to sleep with her, he reportedly said it wasn’t like that and the officers were trying to accuse him of something; after that, he refused to answer any further questions.
Officers took Fayson to an emergency room for medical clearance because he was highly agitated and was reportedly sweating, screaming, and fixated on the victim’s behavior. He reportedly stated multiple times that he would go back to the victim’s apartment as soon as he was released because she “wasn’t acting right.”
Fayson has been charged with domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and felony property damage. He has two felony convictions (non-violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (three violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released on August 5, 2026. Judge Gloria Walker 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.
