Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 17-year-old named Archie Sundiata Townsend, Jr. faces adult charges of attempted homicide and battery by strangulation following an alleged assault on a woman departing from the gym at Reserve at Kanapaha late at night.

The woman informed an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy that she exited the complex’s gym around 2:30 a.m. on June 20 and proceeded to the mailbox across the street. She noticed someone in the parking area dressed entirely in black, approaching her. As she walked towards the front office, the individual started moving faster, heading directly at her, then sprinted towards her. Attempting to escape, she was tackled into a mulch bed and put in a chokehold, making her voice faint when she tried to scream.

The woman reported clawing at the assailant’s arm, but he maintained his grip. Fearing for her life, she mentioned having a child, hoping it would deter him, yet he persisted. While being struck on the side of her head, she feared losing consciousness. In a desperate move, she reached back, grabbing and twisting the attacker’s genitals, causing him to release her.

However, she said that at that point, he stood over her while she was still on the ground, and he put one hand under her chin and one hand on top of her head before twisting in an apparent attempt to break her neck. She said he tried to snap her neck several times.

After trying to snap her neck, she said, he grabbed her by her pants, around her knees, and she started kicking him. She said he reached for something in his pocket, but it seemed like he couldn’t find it and thought he might have dropped it; he let go of her legs and started looking for something in the mulch. She said she started backing away, and he picked something up from the mulch, put on a ski mask, and walked away.

The deputy reported that the victim’s injuries were consistent with her account of the incident. He also reported that the mulch in front of the complex’s office was disturbed, with the victim’s mail spread over the ground, along with her cell phone and keys. He said there was a knife on the ground that belonged to the victim and a can of bear spray that did not belong to the victim. Video footage from the office reportedly showed a dark figure running after the victim.

At about 9:09 p.m. on June 22, other deputies responded to the Reserve at Kanapaha after a call about an attempted vehicle burglary. Patrol deputies found Townsend in the area and detained him.

Post Miranda, Townsend reportedly denied knowing anything about the attack on June 20. He reportedly said that he often goes to the gym at Reserve at Kanapaha, although he lives at the Oak Park Mobile Home Park. He said he was walking around his neighborhood, which is directly across the street from the Reserve of Kanapaha, at the time of the attack.

Townsend reportedly had several scratches on his left arm, in the same area where the victim said she scratched her attacker; he reportedly said they came from climbing a barbed wire fence.

The victim positively identified Townsend in a double-blind photo lineup.

Townsend has been charged as an adult with attempted homicide and battery by strangulation. He has juvenile convictions in 2024 and 2025. Judge David Kreider 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.