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Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a dramatic turn of events early this morning, 39-year-old Charlie James Shivers III was taken into custody after allegedly assaulting a former girlfriend. The incident took a distressing turn when the woman was reportedly rescued by a passerby on his way home from work.
According to authorities, the altercation unfolded around 11 p.m. on the 1500 block of SE 3rd Avenue. The victim recounted that she and Shivers had previously been in a relationship, which had since ended. She detailed how Shivers intercepted her vehicle, prompting her to make a swift U-turn in an attempt to evade him. However, Shivers pursued her, and when both vehicles halted at a red light, he allegedly approached her car, opened the door, and struck her in the face. The situation escalated as Shivers reportedly dragged her from the vehicle and began choking her, leaving the victim fearing for her life.
An unexpected intervention came when a passerby, familiar with the victim, witnessed the commotion. He told police that upon recognizing the woman, he rushed to the scene and managed to pull Shivers away, effectively halting the attack. Shivers, however, quickly returned to his vehicle and fled the scene.
Officers later observed that the victim bore visible injuries, including scratches on her arm and bruises on her neck, corroborating her account of the harrowing encounter.
The man who intervened reportedly showed the officer a receipt that showed he had clocked out of work just minutes before the incident, and the officer reported that the incident location was between his workplace and his home.
While the first officer was investigating the incident, other officers reportedly found Shivers at a family member’s house, where he allegedly barricaded himself inside the home but eventually came out without incident.
Shivers reportedly told an officer that he had come to Gainesville for a family member’s birthday party, and he was heading home to Palatka when the victim texted him and called him, inviting him to her home. He said that when he drove near her home, she started following him, and then she and a man got out of their vehicle and jumped him. Shivers reportedly could not say where this happened but said it was somewhere near Dee’s Liquor.
Post Miranda, Shivers reportedly repeated his story that the victim had called him to invite him to her house; the officer reported that Shivers gave consent for officers to look through his phone, but they found no evidence that the victim had contacted him. The officer reported that Shivers was unable to provide a consistent timeline of events leading to the altercation.
Shivers is also facing a sworn complaint for stalking the same victim for allegedly calling her phone continuously over the course of several days in January. The officer who investigated that incident reported that he answered one of the phone calls and told the caller that the victim no longer wanted contact with him, and the caller agreed and said he would stop calling, but the phone starting ringing about a minute later with more calls.
Shivers has been charged with burglary of an occupied vehicle, domestic battery by strangulation, and domestic battery. His criminal history is currently unavailable; Judge James Colaw 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.