Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Aubrey Chase Mathis, 32, has received a 20-year state prison sentence after two separate juries convicted him of battery on a senior citizen and felony battery on a public defender in different incidents.

Mathis, who had been released from prison on July 8, 2024, was arrested on July 11 near HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, where he attacked a 74-year-old man unprovoked outside the hospital’s west entrance. He punched the victim multiple times in the head, causing him to fall; the victim, who uses a walker, reportedly sustained a laceration to the back of his head. 

On March 17, 2025, during jury selection for the incident in July, Mathis abruptly stood up in court and punched his public defender twice in the face, resulting in redness and swelling under the public defender’s eye from the assault.

On May 19, a jury found Mathis guilty of felony battery on his attorney, and Judge James Colaw sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

On May 27, a separate jury found Mathis guilty of battery on a person over 65 after deliberating for less than five minutes, and Judge Colaw sentenced him to a 10-year term, to be served after the first term.

Both juries also determined that Mathis was a habitual offender.