Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Henry Vhay III, aged 46, was taken into custody yesterday and faced with charges of aggravated battery. He is accused of striking another man on the head with an object resembling a pipe at a homeless encampment.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that at about 10:15 p.m. on May 5, Vhay and the victim started arguing at a homeless camp just west of Alachua County Fire Rescue Station #30 (930 SE 5th Street); the argument turned physical, and Vhay allegedly hit the victim in the back of the head with a blunt cylindrical object, causing a deep laceration.

The victim reportedly told the officer that the argument started because Vhay damaged his newly-purchased e-bike; he said Vhay grabbed a “pipe” and hit him in the back of the head.

The victim’s girlfriend reportedly told the officer that she was in her tent when she heard the argument, and when she came out of her tent, she saw Vhay hit the victim with an object she described as a “pipe.” She said she tried to break up the fight, Vhay fled toward his tent at the back of the camp, and the victim went to the fire station for medical treatment.

A second witness reportedly said he saw Vhay hit the victim with a cylindrical object that was 12-14 inches long before he ran away.

Post Miranda, Vhay reportedly admitted having a blunt cylindrical object about 12-14 inches long and said he threw it into the woods after the fight. He reportedly described the object as a “stick” but couldn’t say what it was, saying it was “dark.”

The officer was unable to find the object.

Vhay has been charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. He has one felony conviction (violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (two violent); he has served one state prison sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon out of Putnam County and was released in 2016. He was arrested in Gainesville in October 2023 for burglary and property damage and served 60 days in jail with credit for 60 days served after entering a plea of nolo contendere to trespassing.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held on $75,000 bail.

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.