Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities detained 60-year-old James Bernard Phillips yesterday, accusing him of assaulting a woman by choking and striking her with a baseball bat.

According to the Gainesville Police Department, officers arrived at the Kampus Inn located at 2820 NW 13th Street around 7:14 a.m. on November 17. There, Phillips is alleged to have attacked a woman during a dispute, using a baseball bat to inflict significant bruising and an eye injury. He is also accused of choking her, confiscating her phone when she attempted to contact emergency services, and blocking her exit.

When questioned after being read his rights, Phillips reportedly denied the occurrence of any altercation and his involvement in the incident.

Phillips, identified as a Violent Felony Offender of Special Concern, faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and battery by strangulation. His criminal record includes 19 felony convictions—four of which are violent—and 12 misdemeanor convictions, with four being violent offenses. He has served time in state prison on three occasions, the last release being in 2014. In 2024, he was apprehended for stealing and pawning a bicycle and later pleaded no contest to fraud related to pawnbroker transactions on September 25, 2025. Judge James Colaw subsequently sentenced him to three years of probation.

Judge Jonathan Ramsey ordered him held without bail on the new charges, 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.