Gainesville man arrested for burglary, battery, and stalking

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Benjamin Clifford Long, 36, was arrested last night for allegedly sending threatening messages to a woman, breaking into an apartment through an upstairs window, and battering a man inside the apartment with a gun.

Between 10:30 p.m. and 11:42 p.m. on May 22, Long reportedly sent multiple text messages to the female victim, a former girlfriend, implying that he was watching her in her bedroom. He also allegedly called the victim 14 times over that period. At 11:40 p.m., the female victim called 911, and part of the incident occurred while she was on the phone with the call-taker.

At 11:40 p.m., a doorbell camera reportedly showed Long banging on the front door of the apartment.

When Gainesville Police Department officers arrived, they reportedly found Long arguing with the male victim in the doorway, and Long ran upstairs. Long allegedly refused commands to stop but was detained upstairs.

The male victim reportedly told officers that he was in the upstairs bedroom when he and the female victim heard someone banging on the front door, but then the knocking stopped, and they didn’t hear anyone come in. However, a few minutes later, they heard footsteps outside the bedroom door, and the female victim called 911 while the male victim put a dresser in front of the door to barricade it. The male victim said the lights went out in the bedroom, and then Long forced his way into the bedroom and attacked the male victim.

The male victim said Long choked him, and he felt a weapon in Long’s back pocket, pulled it out, and threw it to the side. The male victim said Long put something to his head, and he grabbed it and recognized it as a gun. He said Long told him the gun was loaded, and he pleaded for his life before Long hit him on the head with the gun.

The female victim reportedly said the male victim had placed a dresser in front of the door, and she said Long kicked the door in and choked the male victim, but she couldn’t see much because it was dark.

An officer reported that the doorbell camera video showed something with a wooden handle in Long’s back pocket, and the handle matched a hammer that was found under the nightstand in the bedroom.

The officer also reported that a small camera was found on the female victim’s bed; the officer determined that it was placed in the room before the incident, but the female victim did not know it was there.

The female victim reportedly said Long had threatened to kill the male victim.

Post Miranda, Long reportedly said a friend had dropped him off at the female victim’s residence at about 11:40 p.m. and that he had gone there to get work clothes. He said he knocked on the door, put his ear to the window, and believed he heard something indicating that the male victim was inside the apartment.

Long reportedly said he entered the residence through an upstairs window and pushed his way into the female victim’s bedroom, where he said the male victim hit him. He said he and the male victim fought, and the female victim hit him a couple of times. He said he was not armed during the incident.

A gun was found in the bedroom closet under some clothes, and Long reportedly acknowledged that it was his and said it was for home defense. Long also reportedly acknowledged that he had placed a camera in the female victim’s bedroom and said it was to monitor a child, but the officer reported that the female victim had sent Long a text message, telling him the child was staying with a relative for the night.

The officer noted that several of Long’s statements were inconsistent with evidence found at the scene and were verified to be false.

The officer contacted Long’s friend, who reportedly denied dropping Long off at the female victim’s residence.

Long has been charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, aggravated stalking with a credible threat, battery by strangulation, and resisting an officer without violence. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Craig DeThomasis 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.