Gainesville man arrested for battery, burglary, property damage, fleeing, and child abuse

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Douglas Alexander Strain, 23, was arrested yesterday and charged with six felonies after allegedly breaking into an apartment, punching a family member, and fleeing from deputies with a child in the car.

Strain allegedly arrived at a family member’s apartment yesterday and was denied entry; he had previously moved out of the apartment at the request of the victim. When the victim said he couldn’t come in, Strain allegedly went to the rear of the apartment and broke in by breaking a glass window in the door. When the victim tried to call 911, Strain allegedly took her cell phone, threw her to the ground, and punched her several times in the face. The victim reportedly lost consciousness, and suffered several obvious injuries.

Strain then told a 12-year-old relative to get in his car, and he drove away. Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded and reportedly saw him leaving, but Strain allegedly refused to stop. The responding deputies reported that Strain’s actions placed the general public and the juvenile victim in danger. During the pursuit, the juvenile victim reportedly told Strain that deputies were behind him, and Strain reportedly said he was trying to keep him safe.

Strain eventually lost control of the car and crashed. Deputies took Strain into custody and provided medical aid to the juvenile victim.

Post Miranda, Strain reportedly made statements that were inconsistent with the evidence and statements from witnesses. When challenged about those statements, he reportedly asked to have a lawyer present.

Strain was previously arrested in 2022 for stealing a backpack from a student at Library West, but the charge was later dropped; he has no other local criminal history. He is currently being held without bond.

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. 

  • Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Hope he gets everything he deserves.

    • You are so right. My daughter knows him, because they went to school together. Alex is a good person, he just went about doing things the wrong way.

    • I knew there just had to be more to this story. Thank you for sharing! It is tough for some to be empathetic towards people who have committed crimes. However, just by reading this article you can obviously tell he did this all for some bigger reason.

  • Possibly a rec drug user, past or present triggering psychosis OR the kid really was in danger there. The underpaid GPD will have to investigate.

  • i’m in shock. i was dating him for months, never saw any warning signs. i hope he gets the help he needs. i still can’t wrap my head around this.

  • As soon as I see the picture of my pe assistant I was shocked. I really hope he is ok and gets help.

  • He walked into the girls locker room while my friend was changing at my school when he worked there.

  • Man what a shame, I remember I was the Micheal Jordan of pe class and he was well the Oj simp

  • Ok but why would he try to rotate from the police and build fight his mom

  • This guy was my pe coach. I knew he was off from the start.

  • Bro forgot this wasn’t GTA 😭
    Broo ran from the opps
    👇 Like to agree

  • Naur not my old qop assistant pe coach Bro wasn’t silky enough LLL

  • Was employed at queen of Peace, both mom and son. Institutions needs to be vigilant with their employees.. It doesnt mean the parent is an employee the child is qualified too…

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