Gainesville man arrested after allegedly trying to grab a four-year-old child passing his house with her father

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Michael Randolph Stephens, 48, was arrested yesterday after allegedly trying to grab a four-year-old child who was passing his house with her father, trying to punch her father, and making threats against the arresting officer.

At about 6 p.m. on January 30, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to Arredondo Estates, where the child’s father said he had been walking around the block while his daughter drove her battery-powered car. He said they saw a man, later identified as Stephens, standing outside the fence of his residence, and as they traveled along the road, the man approached the father and made a threatening statement, then allegedly lunged for and tried to grab the car and the girl.

The child screamed, and as they went back to their own house, she told her father the man tried to grab her. The incident caused substantial emotional distress to the child, who believed a man she didn’t know was trying to kidnap her.

The father said the man yelled profanities at him and threw a punch at him but missed; believing he and his daughter were in danger, the father took his daughter home and called law enforcement.

The deputy went to Stephens’ residence and attempted to handcuff him, but Stephens allegedly backed away and told the deputy, “I would not do that” when the deputy tried to grab his arm. The deputy placed Stephens on the ground, where Stephens allegedly continued to tense his arms to resist being placed in handcuffs.

While the deputy was transporting Stephens to the jail, Stephens allegedly made statements such as, “I will f*** you up”; “Make sure you put your name on the paperwork; I won’t take your head off, but you deserve to have your head taken off”; and “You are fixing to pay for what you’ve done, everything that you do in the dark will come to light.”

Stephens has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, making threats against a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence, and simple assault. He has three felony convictions (one violent) and eight misdemeanor convictions (three violent). Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $70,000.

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.