GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Willie Earl McCarthy Jr., 55, faces charges of assault and felony battery after allegedly threatening to kill a man and punching another at a University of Florida construction site.
A University of Florida Police Department officer was called to the site near the intersection of Museum Road and Gale Lemerand Drive at approximately 10:15 a.m. on September 29.
According to the first victim, McCarthy had been fired the day before after reportedly being intoxicated and drinking while on the job. McCarthy allegedly returned to the construction site around 9:15 a.m. on September 29, prompting the second victim to tell him to leave.
McCarthy allegedly responded aggressively, calling the second victim names, attempting to strike him and threatening to kill him.
As the second victim walked away, the first victim stepped in and urged McCarthy to leave rather than escalate the confrontation. McCarthy allegedly punched him in the face, causing a small laceration to his nose.
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Authorities later obtained an arrest warrant, and McCarthy was taken into custody on October 13.
Court records describe McCarthy as homeless. He is charged with simple assault and felony battery as a repeat offender. His record includes two felony convictions, both for violent offenses, and four misdemeanor convictions, three of them violent. He also has a criminal history in Connecticut dating from 1989 to 2005. McCarthy is on probation after serving six months in jail for striking a woman who was taken to a hospital for her injuries. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set his bail at $52,500.