Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Stephen Michael Lehr, 52, was arrested yesterday and charged with simple assault and burglary with assault after allegedly threatening a woman who was sitting in a car, waiting for her sister.

The responding Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that at about 6:30 p.m. on November 1, the victim went to her sister’s home in Meadowbrook to pick her up. While she was parked outside her sister’s home with her 10-year-old daughter in the car, Lehr, a neighbor of the victim’s sister, allegedly started “aggressively” harassing the victim, saying she wasn’t supposed to be there and had to leave. The victim said she told him she was just picking up her sister, but Lehr kept escalating the situation.

The victim said she moved her vehicle away from Lehr, but he pursued her and continued to harass her, including reaching into the vehicle “in an aggressive manner” while holding a black item. The victim said she initially thought the item was a gun, but it was later found to be a cell phone. The victim said that when Lehr reached into the vehicle, she was in fear for her safety and her daughter’s safety.

Post Miranda, Lehr reportedly said he never approached the victim or her vehicle except to take a picture of her tag.

Lehr has no local criminal history. Judge Mitchell Bishop set bail at $7,500.

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.