Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Belsar Francisco Cruz Vicente, 29, was arrested late last night after allegedly pointing a gun at his wife and her cousin.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a home in Newberry at about 9 p.m. last night, where the woman reportedly said she and Cruz Vicente had been arguing when he became physically aggressive. She said her cousin came out of the house to help her, then Cruz Vicente went to his car, produced a gun, and pointed it at her cousin. She said that when she told Cruz Vicente to stop threatening her cousin, Cruz Vicente pointed the gun at her face. She said that after she locked herself in the bathroom and told Cruz Vicente to get out of the house, Cruz Vicente took one of their children in his car and drove to a nearby gas station.

Post Miranda, Cruz Vicente reportedly said he never had a gun with him at any point in the evening and that he used to own a firearm but no longer has one. He reportedly said he was not the primary aggressor in the incident and that he never pointed a gun at his wife.

The child who left in the car with Cruz Vicente reportedly stated spontaneously that he saw Cruz Vicente throw a gun into the woods when they were far away from the house.

Cruz Vicente has been charged with domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and tampering with evidence.

Cruz Vicente has a local history of traffic citations going back to 2022, with all of them noting that he has no Florida driver’s license, and he was arrested twice in 2022, once for driving without a valid license in June, and once for hit and run with property damage and cocaine possession in September. Court documents describe attempts to interview him as unsuccessful, noting a language barrier and an unwillingness to participate in the interview during his two arrests. There is a notation that he has a federal criminal history (“ICE: Immigration”) from 2019.

Following the June 2022 arrest, Cruz Vicente failed to appear at a hearing, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. After he was apprehended, adjudication of guilt was withheld, and he was fined $358. He has not paid the fines and fees in that case.

Following the September 2022 arrest, Cruz Vicente successfully completed a deferred prosecution agreement, resulting in the charges being dropped. A few weeks later, a warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear at a court hearing in another case of driving without a valid license; he was arrested on that warrant yesterday.

Judge Craig DeThomasis ordered Cruz Vicente held without bond on the warrant and set bail at $12,000 on the new charges.

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.