Gainesville man arrested for attacking female relative just days after release from prison

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Larry James Fayson Jr., 54, was arrested last night for allegedly attacking and choking a female relative who wanted to spend time with him because he was just released from prison on August 5.

At about 9:51 p.m. on August 15, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to Pinewood Apartments (4151 NW 43rd Street), where the victim said she had picked Fayson up around 9 p.m. to spend time with him after his recent release from prison. She said Fayson started arguing with her during the drive to her apartment, and when they reached her apartment, he tackled her to the ground outside the apartment; she said that after he pushed her down, she threw her keys at him, and he forced her inside the apartment and closed the door behind her.

The victim said he forced her to sit on the couch while he screamed at her, and he grabbed her phone and threw it into the wall, leaving a noticeable dent in the wall and breaking the phone. She said Fayson made her take off her shoes and told her she could not leave.

The victim said Fayson took off his shirt, and when she asked him to put his clothes back on because she was uncomfortable, he refused and accused her of treating her like some other man who tried to sleep with her; she said Fayson picked up a bottle of alcohol, and when she said he didn’t need to be drinking, he screamed at her that he would kill her.

Fayson allegedly slapped the victim multiple times in the face, causing her lip to bleed, and then slammed her into various objects in the room; a responding officer noted that the room was in disarray, with items scattered across the apartment. Fayson allegedly slammed her head into the wall, and the officer reported that this left plaster dust in the victim’s hair.

When the victim tried to run away, Fayson allegedly grabbed her and choked her until she was unconscious; she woke up face down on the floor, and an officer reported finding multiple blood stains on the floor, consistent with the bleeding on the victim’s lip.

Fayson allegedly forced the victim back onto the couch and continued screaming at her; he eventually walked into the kitchen, and the victim took that opportunity to run out the front door. Officers arrived just before that happened, and they reported hearing screaming and a loud slap just before the door suddenly opened and the victim sprinted out, with Fayson following her. Officers separated Fayson from the victim and detained him.

Post Miranda, Fayson reportedly said the victim picked him up, they both had something to drink, and they started arguing; he said the argument escalated when the victim threw her keys at him. He said she was acting “erratic,” so he held her in a headlock on the couch. He said the victim acted “weird” when he took his shirt off, and when she asked him to put it back on, he became angry because she was treating him like another man who was trying to sleep with her. When an officer asked why he would think she was concerned that he would try to sleep with her, he reportedly said it wasn’t like that and the officers were trying to accuse him of something; after that, he refused to answer any further questions.

Officers took Fayson to an emergency room for medical clearance because he was highly agitated and was reportedly sweating, screaming, and fixated on the victim’s behavior. He reportedly stated multiple times that he would go back to the victim’s apartment as soon as he was released because she “wasn’t acting right.”

Fayson has been charged with domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and felony property damage. He has two felony convictions (non-violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (three violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released on August 5, 2026. Judge Gloria Walker 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.