Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tommy Lee Banks, Jr., 50, and Artie Korea McMillan, 60, were arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated assault in separate but related incidents at the same property; Banks was also charged with felony battery.

At about 6 p.m. on September 1, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a residence in the 4500 block of SE 2nd Place where McMillan lives with the property owner (referred to in this article as the first victim); another woman living at the house (referred to in this report as the second victim) reportedly told Banks, who is dating McMillan’s daughter, that he needed to leave because the owner of the property did not want him there.

The second victim reportedly told the deputy that Banks became aggressive and was holding something that looked like a rifle while yelling at her; she said she became fearful when she confirmed that Banks was carrying a rifle, which was later found to be a BB gun. She said Banks was “pumping” the rifle, and she was afraid he would shoot her with it.

The property owner reportedly told the deputy that he arrived at the property and found Banks there, although he has told him several times that he is not welcome there. He said he told Banks to leave, and Banks started punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. He said he stood up, but Banks kept hitting him and had to be pulled away by other people.

The deputy noted that the property owner’s injuries were consistent with his account of the incident, including a swollen cheek, abrasions on his head and knees, a golf-ball-sized bump on his forehead, and blood on his face and clothing.

The BB gun was reportedly collected as evidence.

After Banks was separated from the first victim, McMillan reportedly tried to leave the property in the first victim’s vehicle, but the second victim tried to stop her, standing in front of the vehicle and pleading with her not to take the vehicle; another woman (the third victim) also stood in front of the vehicle. Both women reportedly told the deputy that McMillan drove the vehicle toward them, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. They said McMillan drove away at a high rate of speed.

A neighbor reportedly told the deputy that he saw an adult male matching Banks’ description beating the property owner as the property owner tried to get away from him; the same witness said he saw the first victim’s vehicle “lunge forward” toward two women, then drive away at a high rate of speed. The witness reportedly said that it appeared the two women would have been hit by the vehicle if they hadn’t jumped out of the vehicle’s path.

Both defendants were later arrested at a gas station on East University Avenue.

Banks has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony battery with a prior battery conviction.

Banks is currently on probation after a jury found him guilty on August 13, 2024, of resisting an officer without violence; the incident that prompted the law enforcement response also involved a possible BB gun. He has at least 17 felony convictions and 14 misdemeanor convictions, with 11 of those for battery or aggravated assault, and he has served four state prison terms, with his most recent release in 2019. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $15,000; Banks has not yet been charged with violating probation.

McMillan has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She has two cases from the 1980s in which adjudication of guilt was withheld, but she has no criminal history since that time. Judge Ramsey set bail at $20,000.

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.