Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jermaya Lavaghn Richardson, 31, was arrested late last night after allegedly breaking a neighbor’s window, entering her apartment, and punching her over a suspicion that her wife was having an affair with the neighbor.

At about 11:30 p.m. on February 23, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Gardenview Apartments (2220 SW 34th St), where the victim said Richardson broke her window, punched her in the face, and dragged her across her living room floor.

The victim said Richardson knocked on her front door, and when she opened it, Richardson punched her in the face and dragged her across her living room floor; she said Richardson punched the front window during the fight, causing about $400 in damage. The victim said she got away from Richardson and locked herself in the bathroom, then Richardson knocked on the bathroom door and left the apartment.

A witness reportedly told the officer that he saw Richardson knocking on the victim’s front door. When the victim did not open the door, he said he saw Richardson break the front window and enter the apartment through the window. He said he didn’t know what happened after Richardson entered the apartment.

A second witness reportedly said she saw the victim push Richardson away outside the apartment and then the victim went inside and locked the door. The witness said Richardson knocked on the victim’s front door and then broke the window and entered the apartment through the window. She said after Richardson entered the apartment, she heard a lot of banging like someone was beating on the door. She said Richardson left the apartment through the window a short time later.

The officer reported that one side of the victim’s front window was broken, with the screen on the ground and the window pushed up; there was also glass on the floor of the apartment near the window and blood on the floor leading to the bathroom and on the bathroom door.

The victim reportedly had bruises on her arm and swelling on one side of her face; hair was also reportedly found on the ground outside the victim’s apartment.

Post Miranda, Richardson reportedly said she did not break the victim’s window or enter the apartment. She said she found out the victim was sleeping with her wife, so she knocked on the victim’s door to confront her but didn’t do anything else. However, on the way to the jail, Richardson reportedly told the officer that she knew he saw the blood on the bathroom door and that it came from her hand, but she said she was already inside the victim’s apartment and did not break in. She also reportedly said she punched the window but did not think she broke it.

The officer reported that Richardson had cuts on her foot and hand.

Richardson has been charged with burglary with battery, burglary of an occupied dwelling, and property damage under $1,000. She has a criminal history in Georgia, including an active warrant, and an unspecified federal criminal history; she has one local felony conviction for grand theft of a motor vehicle. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold her without bail until trial.

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.