GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Philip Michael Young, 42, was arrested yesterday after authorities said he repeatedly contacted his former girlfriend, went to her home and confronted her on a hiking trail.
According to an Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy’s report, the woman received roughly 20 calls from a blocked number after ending her relationship with Young. At about 2 a.m. on Oct. 3, she heard someone repeatedly knocking at her door but did not answer.
She told deputies that calls from the blocked number continued into the following morning. Later, she went for a walk at the San Felasco Hammock Preserve hiking trail at 11101 Millhopper Road.
Near the trail entrance, the woman said she saw Young’s pickup truck slow down and turn around. A short time later, she said, Young approached her on an isolated section of the trail.
Young allegedly told her he wanted to talk. When she declined and said she wanted to return to her vehicle, she said he blocked her path and continued preventing her from passing whenever she tried to move around him. At one point, according to the report, Young placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her backward.
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The woman said she pulled out her phone to text a friend, but Young attempted to take it. She also reported that he grabbed her dog’s leash and lifted the animal’s front paws off the ground for several seconds. When other hikers came closer, she yelled that she was going to call police, prompting Young to reportedly back away.
Young reportedly told the deputy that he had called the woman more than 40 times from a blocked number. He said he woke during the night and called her, then went to her home and knocked at approximately 2 a.m. when she did not respond. Young said he encountered her near the San Felasco Hammock Preserve entrance while driving to work the next morning and stopped to speak with her. He acknowledged walking backward in front of her and placing his hands on her shoulders to persuade her to talk, but denied pushing her, trying to take her phone or grabbing the dog’s leash.
Young faces charges of stalking and domestic battery. Court records show two withheld adjudications of guilt stemming from domestic battery and trespassing cases in 2013. Judge Craig DeThomasis ordered Young released on his own recognizance.