Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Richard Jonathan King, 34, was arrested yesterday after allegedly entering a vehicle and injuring a 13-year-old girl while attempting to take a purse during a confrontation with the girl’s mother.
An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was called to Harbor Cove, located at 6815 W. University Avenue, at approximately 8:11 a.m. on October 5. According to the report, King said he had been arguing with the juvenile’s mother and was attempting to recover belongings from a purse the girl was holding. The deputy observed that King had a swollen left eye and was bleeding from the right side of his head, his knuckles and both elbows.
A second alleged victim told deputies that a bystander attempted to intervene as King pursued the girl and her mother. King allegedly punched the bystander in the chest, prompting the bystander to throw King to the ground. The report indicated that King suffered his injuries during the incident.
A witness said King chased the juvenile’s mother through the apartment complex parking lot before entering the second victim’s vehicle. Inside the vehicle, he allegedly tried to pull a purse away from the girl.
The juvenile was reportedly crying and holding her arm. She told deputies that King attempted to take her mother’s purse while she was seated in the vehicle, injuring one of her fingers and causing pain to travel up her arm. She was taken to a local pediatric emergency room for treatment.
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Deputies reported finding blood on the vehicle door near where the girl had been sitting, as well as in other areas around the vehicle.
After being read his Miranda rights at the hospital, King reportedly acknowledged pulling on the purse while the juvenile was holding it inside the second victim’s vehicle.
King faces charges of burglary of an unoccupied vehicle and child abuse without great bodily harm. He has no prior criminal convictions. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set his bail at $80,000.
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.
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