Alachua man charged with five felonies after allegedly firing shots on neighbor’s property and damaging items on porch

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Max Jacob Barreto, 29, was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly walking through a neighbor’s closed gate and onto their porch, yelling at them, firing shots, and damaging items on the porch.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that early Sunday morning, he responded to a call about an armed disturbance at a property off of CR 235, north of NW 94th Avenue. The victims said the suspect lived at a neighboring property, and deputies surrounded the suspect’s house and gave commands for him to come out.

The victims said they had been asleep when they heard gunshots from the area of their front porch, followed immediately by loud banging on the front door. They said they recognized the voice of their neighbor, Barreto, yelling at them to come out and fight, and all four occupants of the house were afraid for their lives.

One of the occupants looked out a front window and saw Barreto standing at the front door, wearing a head lamp and yelling; the victim said he is familiar with Barreto because he sees him regularly and Barreto cleans their pool. The victims said they could hear Barreto breaking their front porch decorations and plants. When they told Barreto to leave their property and go home, he reportedly continued yelling at them. When the victims said they were calling the police, Barreto allegedly left the front porch and fired another shot while walking away.

The deputy reported that several plants and pots were smashed on the front porch, which is under the roof line of the house, with damage valued at about $200; he said Barreto was believed to have entered the property by the front gate, which was closed and has a “No Trespassing” sign. The deputy also reported finding a spent .380 casing on the victims’ driveway.

Meanwhile, Barreto allegedly refused all orders to come out of his house for about three hours, and when he finally came out, he allegedly continued to refuse lawful orders until he was apprehended by a K-9 team.

Barreto has been charged with armed burglary, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer without violence, and property damage. He has no criminal convictions but was arrested in 2022 for possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana; the charge was later dropped. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered a mental health evaluation and ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him 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.