Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gregory Levann Strickland, 60, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly threatening to stab a man who was living in a shed. He was previously released from jail on Sunday after serving 90 days for felony petit theft.

At about 6:21 p.m. on Wednesday, a Gainesville Police Department Officer responded to a shed in the 2200 block of SE 8th Place, where the victim said Strickland had been beating on the door. The victim said he answered the door and told Strickland to leave, but Strickland became angry, threw a chair at the door, pulled a knife, and then “ran at him” with the knife. The victim said he ran back inside the shed in fear for his life.

A witness reportedly corroborated the victim’s story and said that Strickland told the victim he would cut him while chasing him with the knife. The witness described the knife as a black folding knife, and the victim said the blade was about six inches long.

Post Miranda, Strickland admitted that he had argued with the victim and had thrown a chair at the door. He also said he picked up a knife from the floor so the victim could not get it, but he said he did not chase the victim with the knife.

The officer was unable to locate the knife.

Strickland has 24 felony convictions (two violent) and 15 misdemeanor convictions (three violent). He has served five state prison sentences, with his most recent release in December 2023. He was arrested in February for felony petit theft and resisting an officer without violence, and he was sentenced to 90 days in jail after entering a plea of nolo contendere to the felony petit theft charge. He was released on May 5. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $50,000.

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.