Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – A 48-year-old man named Michael Leland Akins was taken into custody yesterday, accused of unlawfully entering a residence and assaulting two women with a metal object.

According to a report from an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy, the incident occurred around 2:13 p.m. on March 26. Akins allegedly entered his former girlfriend’s home without permission through an unlocked door. Inside, he reportedly engaged in a confrontation with her, demanding to see her phone. The situation escalated when he allegedly knocked the phone from her hand and proceeded to strike her multiple times.

In an attempt to protect the first woman, another occupant of the house reportedly grabbed a baseball bat and used it against Akins. This led to Akins allegedly turning his aggression toward the second woman.

Afterward, Akins is said to have exited the house, retrieved a sharp metal object, and struck the second woman, inflicting injuries that made her believe her arm was fractured. The first woman also suffered a knee injury, which she attributed to a fall, though the deputy observed that it was consistent with being hit by a sharp object. Both women described the metal object as large and potentially lethal.

A third person present at the residence reportedly confirmed the victims’ accounts of the events.

The responding deputy reported that the first victim had marks and bruises in multiple places on her upper body, her hands were so swollen that she could barely move her fingers, and she had a deep laceration on her knee.

Akins reportedly left the property in a red truck and was found a short time later; deputies reported that it was clear from his injuries that he had been engaged in a physical altercation.

Post Miranda, Akins reportedly admitted that he had been in an altercation, but he said it was in self-defense.

Akins has been charged with burglary with battery and two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has five local misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), all before 2006. Judge Luis Bustamante 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.