Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have taken Charles Ivan Griffith II, aged 35, into custody following accusations of aggravated battery for allegedly slashing his roommate’s throat, resulting in a six-inch laceration.

Around 9:20 p.m. on December 27, officers from the Gainesville Police Department arrived at a residence in the Phoenix neighborhood. They discovered Griffith outside, hovering over the injured roommate, with both individuals drenched in blood. Griffith exhibited facial swelling, while the victim sustained a six-inch neck wound and had blood in his mouth.

According to reports, after being read his Miranda rights, the victim recounted drinking with Griffith before an argument erupted, during which Griffith allegedly began assaulting and strangling him. The victim retaliated, and when Griffith seemed to concede, the victim attempted to seek refuge with a neighbor. However, Griffith allegedly attacked him from behind, stabbing him in the neck. The assault continued outside, where Griffith allegedly struck him approximately 20 times until neighbors intervened.

Meanwhile, Griffith, also informed of his rights, claimed that the altercation inside their apartment was intense and not merely playful. He accused the victim of repeatedly hitting him and thought he had been stabbed in the eye. However, medical personnel later confirmed that Griffith had no puncture wounds. Griffith recalled that after suspecting an eye injury, they both sought help from a neighbor, after which he allegedly “blacked out” and vaguely remembered possibly slashing his roommate’s throat.

Witnesses reported seeing Griffith pursue the victim, force him to the ground, and assault him, shouting threats to kill. Another witness corroborated this, describing Griffith delivering around 20 punches and kicks while standing over the victim.

The officer reported that the victim was transported to a local hospital and immediately taken into surgery. The cut to his neck was about six inches long, from the front of his neck to the left side. The victim also required stitches inside his mouth. Griffith was also transported to an emergency room for treatment.

Officers reported finding blood throughout the apartment. A blue multicolored switchblade was found inside the apartment and collected as evidence; a pocketknife with a blade about 4 inches long was found outside a neighbor’s apartment where Griffith and the victim had fought, and it was also collected as evidence. However, officers do not know whether either weapon was used to cut the victim.

Griffith has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has two felony convictions (two violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent); he was sentenced to four years of probation for threatening two people with a pocketknife in 2020, and although his probation was scheduled to terminate in October 2025, the Department of Corrections still lists him as actively on probation. Judge Jonathan Ramsey 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.