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Staff Report
ALACHUA, Fla. – Sherrita Marquette Poitier, a 50-year-old resident of Alachua, faces charges after allegedly striking a young girl in the head with a hammer. The incident occurred during a brawl involving several juveniles, including Poitier’s child, on February 18.
The Alachua Police Department received a flurry of calls around 5:52 p.m. on December 14, 2025, reporting a disturbance involving a group of people near the 13300 block of NW 155th Place. According to one caller, what began as a clash among youths escalated when an adult purportedly intervened and attacked a juvenile with a hammer.
The witness managed to capture an image of the suspect’s vehicle, aiding officers in identifying Poitier as the owner. Further investigation revealed her child was involved in the altercation, and she resides close to the scene of the fight.
Several witnesses provided sworn statements, corroborating that Poitier actively participated in the skirmish and struck the young victim with a hammer. According to these accounts, rather than breaking up the confrontation, Poitier allegedly hit the juvenile in the head or face, causing a cut above her eye that required stitches. Witnesses also claimed Poitier threatened others with the hammer before momentarily dropping it, then retrieving it and leaving the area in her vehicle.
A detective spoke with Poitier by phone, and she reportedly denied being involved and said she didn’t know how her name came up; when she was told that multiple witnesses said she was involved in the fight and that she was the person who injured the victim, she denied this and said no one knew her name, so she did not know how they could say it was her. Poitier reportedly never admitted her involvement in the fight, but she said her child who was involved in the fight had been “jumped” by other children in the past. She said she had not contacted law enforcement about these incidents because her child “fights back.”
Poitier has been charged with aggravated child abuse. She has no local criminal history, and the arrest warrant signed by Judge James Colaw ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold her 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.