Gainesville woman arrested for hitting deputies’ patrol car, accelerating toward another patrol vehicle, and fleeing with children in her car

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Michelle Breann Bartholomew, 26, was arrested yesterday for allegedly hitting a patrol car with her vehicle, accelerating toward another patrol vehicle, and fleeing with children in her car.

At about 6:44 a.m. on July 4, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call about a woman who was driving a white vehicle and trying to run over a man at Tower Oaks Glen Apartments.

When the first two deputies arrived in their patrol vehicle, they found Bartholomew in a white sedan in the parking lot, and as they parked, Bartholomew allegedly accelerated her car at their patrol vehicle, hitting the passenger side front door. After hitting the first patrol vehicle, Bartholomew allegedly accelerated toward a second patrol vehicle, but the deputy quickly swerved away.

A fourth deputy activated his lights and sirens and attempted a traffic stop, but the sedan drove away from the area, allegedly traveling above the speed limit and running multiple red lights; the pursuit was canceled near the intersection of NW 8th Avenue and NW 34th Street, and a deputy reported that the sedan turned north on NW 31st Terrace.

Deputies noted that the sedan was driven by a “heavy build black female,” and two young children were seen in the sedan during the pursuit.

Deputies later found the same woman walking with two children in the 2000 block of NW 34th Street, and she reportedly attempted to jump off a bridge when she saw deputies, but deputies held her back and detained her.

Bartholomew allegedly refused to identify herself.

When deputies located the white sedan, they noted that there were no car seats for the children, who are 5 and 8 years old and “small in stature.”

Bartholomew has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing, and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm. She has no local criminal history, and Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $100,000.

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.