Gainesville woman arrested for attempted murder

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dasani Aviana Lyndell Johnson, 23, was arrested yesterday after allegedly cutting a man with a meat cleaver and failing to call an ambulance.

At about 4:35 a.m. on November 30, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an apartment at Park Lane Apartments (7606 SW 58th Lane) after multiple calls were received about a gunshot; a call was also received from a witness who said a man had been shot and stabbed.

Deputies found the victim with a severe laceration to his wrist and administered first aid; the victim was reportedly in and out of consciousness and was transported to a local hospital.

Deputies also spoke with Johnson, who was “alert and uncooperative” and initially refused to come out of the apartment; she reportedly had a large amount of blood on her and an injury to the back of her head. She was also transported to a local hospital.

Deputies conducted a protective sweep of the residence and found a large amount of blood in multiple rooms, along with a meat cleaver; deputies also reported that there was a hole in a wall that could be consistent with a gunshot.

A neighbor reportedly provided a video, taken from inside another apartment, in which a man and woman could be heard yelling at each other; much of it is unintelligible, but a woman can be heard saying, “Stop touching me,” and a man can be heard saying, “I need to go to the hospital.” A “bang” can be heard on the video, followed by silence, but deputies reported that it was difficult to determine whether the “bang” was from a gunshot or “something else being hit or struck.”

Another witness reportedly said Johnson called her around 3 a.m. and said she “cut” the victim and he was dying; the witness said she went to the apartment and found the victim on the floor “and not coherent,” but Johnson was in another room, “saying everything was fine.” That witness called 911.

When the victim was interviewed at the hospital, he reportedly said Johnson was angry at him and that she grabbed the meat cleaver and swung it at him multiple times, slicing his arm. He said he grabbed his handgun, and after Johnson continued trying to attack him, he shot the gun to scare her. He said he began going in and out of consciousness after that.

When a deputy spoke with Johnson, she initially stated spontaneously, “I guess you’re here to arrest me.” Post Miranda, she reportedly said she was angry at the victim and grabbed a “knife” from the kitchen to “scare” him. She initially said she only “lightly swung” the meat cleaver at him, but when the deputy told her how significant the victim’s injuries were, she reportedly admitted she swung it multiple times and demonstrated by moving her hands and arms up and down. She said the victim pushed her to the ground, which caused her head injury, but she said that was after she cut him and he acted in self-defense. She also reportedly said the victim had never physically attacked her.

Johnson reportedly said at first that a gun was never involved, but she later said a gun was shot while she was in a different room; she later reportedly admitted that she had lied about the gun and that she was there when it was shot. However, she did not elaborate on why the gun was shot.

Johnson reportedly said that when the victim was on the ground, he said multiple times that she was trying to kill him and that he would die if he didn’t get to a hospital. She said she was not trying to kill him, but when she saw how much blood he was losing, she realized he might die. The deputy noted that in spite of this, she did not seek any medical assistance for the victim.

Deputies executed a search warrant on the apartment on November 30 and reportedly found blood throughout the apartment, a meat cleaver on the floor, a handgun with fresh blood on it, and a 9mm shell casing.

Johnson has been charged with attempted felony murder, specifically committing an intentional act that could lead to death. She has no criminal convictions, and Judge Kristine Van Vorst ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold her 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.