Homeless man arrested for hitting victim with fence post during argument over encampment
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Martin Turns Jr., 52, was arrested yesterday for allegedly hitting another man with a fence post during an argument over an encampment.
At about 4:35 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a property in the 500 block of NE Waldo Road, where Turns and the victim were arguing over land and a homeless encampment; Turns allegedly told the victim to get off his land, and the victim said he wasn’t going anywhere.
Turns picked up a six-foot-long wooden fence post and allegedly threw it at the victim, hitting him in the face. The victim reportedly had several cuts on his face.
A witness reportedly saw Turns throw the fence post at the victim, and he ran over to separate the two men.
Post Miranda, Turns reportedly said his father gave him the land, and he had the right to defend his property. He said the victim pointed a gun at him before he threw the fence post, but he was unable to describe the gun except to say it was black.
The victim denied possessing a gun during the incident, and the witness said he never saw a gun.
Turns, whose address is listed as GRACE Marketplace, has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has five felony convictions (non-violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (three violent), and he has a Notice to Appear on a charge of illegal possession of a shopping cart. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $5,000.
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.
Aren’t all these “encampments” illegal? And I’m glad to see someone charged with illegally possessing a shopping cart.
The city needs to make the “homeless crime emergency” we’re having here a priority…
close all illegal encampments and end all panhandling in street medians immediately…
I’m ok with my taxpayer money being spent on sending these neighbors back to where they came from with a hand 🖐️ up and a ticket 🎟️ out back to where they came from to be reunited with their family, friends, & church..
If this bum is a disGRACE tenant, why is he camping in the woods illegally? GRACE is a skidmark on our county and needs to be defunded and closed down permanently. They are only attracting the bad apples that nobody wants around.
How much longer do we have to wait for the 10 year plan to end homelessness to work?
I can see it now: Mayor Harvey Ward of Gainesville, Florida, announces Battle of the Homeless at Citizens Field, every Saturday night. Admission is $25, kids are not free, and parking is $15.
Sounds like a MAGA Trump White House event. Battle of the Bums.
No. Beardy got it right..
It’s a city of GNV mayor Harvey Ward liberal commi battle of the bums event and they need a stadium for it.
Maybe they should change the name of Gainesville to Bumsville instead?
I checked the court record and this POS lives at GRACE Marketplace!!
His ADDRESS is at GRACE Marketplace. Many people with addresses at GRACE have actually been trespassed from GRACE, and others just use it to pick up their mail.