15-year-old on probation charged as an adult with burglary and battery by strangulation

Staff report

Updated on September 30 with criminal history and bail.

WALDO, Fla. – Ja’quel Leroy Richardson, 15, of Waldo, has been charged as an adult after allegedly choking a woman and pushing his way into her apartment.

At about 9:14 a.m. on September 9, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Waldo Villa Apartments, where the victim said a black male around 15 years old had knocked on her door and asked if her “husband” was home; when she said he wasn’t, the suspect grabbed her by the throat with both hands and pushed her back into her apartment, where she fell to the ground. She said he continued choking her, which impeded her normal breathing, but she managed to scream, and the suspect fled. She said the suspect was wearing a light-colored shirt and blue shorts.

Deputies reported that the victim had redness in her neck area.

At about 12:53 p.m., while deputies were still in the area, a deputy saw Robinson, who is associated with an apartment near the victim’s apartment; he matched the physical description of the suspect, but he was wearing different clothes. While deputies were speaking with Robinson, the victim saw him through a window and positively identified him as the suspect.

Robinson’s family members reportedly said he had changed his clothes since the incident, and he had been alone downstairs for a majority of the morning, while the other family members were upstairs.

A search of Robinson’s family’s apartment reportedly produced two pairs of blue shorts in a bag owned by Robinson, and a family member reportedly pointed out the specific blue shorts Robinson had worn earlier in the day.

A witness reportedly said she saw a juvenile black male standing outside the victim’s apartment at about 9 a.m., and she thought he was behaving strangely; she reportedly said the shorts that were found in Robinson’s apartment were the ones worn by the juvenile black male.

Post Miranda, Robinson reportedly gave inconsistent statements about what he had been wearing and whether he had changed clothes. He denied ever interacting with the victim or her apartment, but he later said he had knocked on the victim’s apartment a few weeks before and asked if her “boyfriend” was there. He reportedly said he had “anger issues” and had been upset that day because of family problems. He later reportedly admitted to knocking on the victim’s door that morning and asking if her “husband” was home, but he said he didn’t remember anything after that. When a deputy asked whether Robinson thought the victim had flirted with him or been friendly toward him, he said he felt like that had occurred recently. He also reportedly admitted later that he had changed his clothes and identified the clothing that was described by the victim.

Robinson has been charged as an adult with burglary with battery and battery by strangulation and booked into the Alachua County Jail. Judge James Colaw set bail at $500,000 in his order transferring the case to the adult court system. Robinson is on juvenile probation and has a juvenile conviction from 2025. Judge Meshon Rawls confirmed bail at $500,000.

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.