Share and Follow
Staff Report
NEWBERRY, Fla. – A 48-year-old man named Michael Leland Akins was taken into custody yesterday following accusations of unlawfully entering a residence and assaulting two women with a sharp metal object.
According to an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy’s report, the incident occurred around 2:13 p.m. on March 26. Akins allegedly entered the home of a former girlfriend without permission, taking advantage of an unlocked door. Once inside, he reportedly initiated an argument with her and demanded her phone, subsequently knocking it from her hands and assaulting her with multiple punches.
In an attempt to defend the first woman, another woman in the house grabbed a baseball bat and began striking Akins. In response, Akins allegedly turned his aggression towards the second woman, attacking her as well.
After stepping outside, Akins is said to have retrieved a sharp metal object and used it to strike the second woman, inflicting injuries that led her to believe her arm was broken. The first woman also suffered a knee injury, which she attributed to a fall. However, the deputy observed that the injury was consistent with being struck by a sharp metal object. Both victims described the object as large and heavy enough to potentially cause death or significant injury.
A third person in the home reportedly corroborated the accounts of the two victims.
The responding deputy reported that the first victim had marks and bruises in multiple places on her upper body, her hands were so swollen that she could barely move her fingers, and she had a deep laceration on her knee.
Akins reportedly left the property in a red truck and was found a short time later; deputies reported that it was clear from his injuries that he had been engaged in a physical altercation.
Post Miranda, Akins reportedly admitted that he had been in an altercation, but he said it was in self-defense.
Akins has been charged with burglary with battery and two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has five local misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), all before 2006. Judge Luis Bustamante ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
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.