Gainesville man arrested for trying to hit family member with car

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Lenard Paul Bryant, 64, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and property damage; he is also facing a sworn complaint for stealing two pressure washers and two generators from Tractor Supply in April.

A Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer reported that at about 8:40 p.m. on Tuesday night, Bryant got into an argument with a family member and then got into his car and drove down the street before turning around and driving toward the family member at high speed.

The victim told the officer that she and Bryant had argued because Bryant was not allowed on her property, and during the argument, Bryant said he would kill her. She thought he was leaving when he got into his car, but then he turned around and drove toward her at high speed, causing her to jump back to avoid being hit.

A witness who was visiting the victim’s house said he heard Bryant talking “crazy” and saw Bryant drive toward the victim at high speed.

A second witness corroborated the victim’s story and said she heard Bryant making threats toward the victim.

A second GPD officer responded to another call from the victim at about 3:05 a.m. on Wednesday; the victim said she had looked out of her window and had seen Bryant driving into the gate of her fence. The officer reported that the damage was estimated at about $1,000. The officer located Bryant’s vehicle in the 2300 block of E. University Avenue and noted that one of the front headlight covers was broken; Bryant was arrested later that day.

Bryant is also facing a charge of grand theft from a sworn complaint regarding an April incident in which he allegedly took two pressure washers and two generators, with a total value of about $3,400, from the Tractor Supply on NW 13th Street. A store employee told the responding GPD officer that the items were loaded into a vehicle, and he took pictures of the defendants and the vehicle; the tag on the vehicle reportedly belonged to Bryant. The employee said that when he confronted Bryant about the theft, Bryant said, “We’re good here” and drove away.

The responding officer noted that the stolen items were pawned later that day.

Bryant has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and property damage; he has not yet been booked on the sworn complaint.

Bryant has 13 felony convictions (two violent) and 34 misdemeanor convictions (three violent); he has served seven state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2015. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $60,000.

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.