Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities took Kelvin Lee Pritchett, 40, into custody last night following accusations of forcibly entering a neighbor’s home and assaulting her.
At approximately 10:36 p.m. on March 1, officers from the Gainesville Police Department were dispatched to The Park apartment complex located at 3643 SW 20th Avenue. Several residents reported a man yelling and forcefully attempting to enter an apartment. Upon arrival, officers found Pritchett outside the victim’s residence, covered in cooking oil, persistently kicking the door.
According to the victim, an altercation erupted while Pritchett was inside her apartment. After asking him to leave and being met with refusal, she tossed his wallet outside, locking the door behind him. Preparing for further confrontation, she armed herself with a pot of hot cooking oil and took refuge in the kitchen. When Pritchett allegedly burst through the door, he reportedly struck her in the face, prompting her to throw the cooking oil at him in self-defense. Pritchett then exited the apartment.
The responding officer documented that the victim suffered a small cut and noticeable swelling on her face.
The victim clarified that Pritchett is not a resident of her apartment and does not possess a key. She emphasized that his access is contingent upon her permission, which she revoked when she asked him to leave and secured the door.
Post Miranda, Pritchett reportedly said he was asleep inside the apartment when he was attacked in bed. He said he was splashed with cooking oil during his argument with the victim, but he did not say anything about hitting her; he said he didn’t know how her face got injured. He reportedly admitted that the victim briefly locked him out of the apartment but said she eventually opened the door, and he pushed his way into the apartment while she pushed on the door, trying to close it.
Pritchett reportedly confirmed that he does not live at the victim’s apartment or have a key to the victim’s apartment and said he has his own apartment in the same complex. He denied kicking or breaking the door.
The officer noted that the door frame was broken to the point where the door can no longer be secured, and he reported that he saw Pritchett hitting and kicking the door when he arrived.
Pritchet has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling and domestic battery. He has two felony convictions and nine misdemeanor convictions and has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2019. 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.
