By Staff Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Richard Francis Lawane, aged 35, finds himself in legal trouble once more. He was taken into custody yesterday on charges of battery against a person over 65, following allegations that he kicked his mother and dragged her by her hair. This arrest echoes a similar incident from last October.
The situation unfolded around 5:42 p.m. on May 25 when an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to a Taco Bell located at 7410 W. Newberry Road. Lawane had reportedly reached out to a suicide hotline, expressing a desire to end his life by hanging. It was noted by the deputy that Lawane resides with his mother in a tent behind a BP gas station, conveniently situated across from the Taco Bell.
According to Lawane’s account to the deputy, a physical altercation erupted between him and his mother earlier that day. He claimed that she attacked him while he was sleeping, prompting him to retaliate by kicking her multiple times. He also admitted that this was not an isolated incident, as he had hit her on several past occasions.
Even after being read his Miranda rights, Lawane reiterated his admission, confirming that he had indeed kicked his mother multiple times.
Deputies subsequently visited the BP gas station to interview the victim. She recounted that upon waking from a nap, Lawane began kicking her with his boots. A deputy observed bruises on her arm, consistent with her account of being kicked. The victim further described how Lawane stood up, seized her by the hair, and dragged her around the tent. She revealed that such physical confrontations had occurred several times over the past few months.
Lawane was previously arrested on October 17, 2025, at the same location. In that incident, Lawane initially said he had been “jumped” by “vagabonds” and said they were “crackheads,” but then he changed his story and said his mother attacked him, but he did not want to “get her in trouble.” He said he was awakened by his mother “kicking” him in the face and that he had hit her to “get her off” him.
Lawane’s mother was reportedly found sleeping in the tent and appeared “frail and infirm”; she had a large bruise around one eye and bruises on her forehead and on the side of her head. She said Lawane had attacked her inside the tent. Lawane reportedly admitted to giving her “a shiner.”
The deputy who responded to that case reported that Lawane had scratches on his face, but they appeared to be consistent with defensive actions by the victim and not marks left by a shoe.
Lawane was charged with battery on a person over 65 in that case, but it can no longer be found in the court system.
Lawane has also been charged with battery on a person over 65 in the latest case. He told Court Services that he is homeless and has been in the area for four months, but he was arrested in the same area more than five months ago. He has no criminal convictions in Florida, but he has an unspecified criminal history in another state between 2017 and 2024. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $75,000.
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
