Homeless man arrested for punching elderly cyclist near UF
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Larry Lee Brooks Jr., 32, was arrested yesterday for allegedly punching a cyclist who stopped to help him.
A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that at about 8:44 p.m. on July 22, Brooks was behaving “erratically” at the intersection of West University Avenue and 13th Street, prompting multiple people to call 911.
The officer reported that he stopped to observe Brooks before making contact and saw the victim stop his bike and tell Brooks that he was going to hurt his hand by punching a sign; the officer reported that he saw Brooks punch the cyclist, causing the cyclist to fall off his bike and hit a stopped car.
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a cylindrical object that Brooks said was a “crack pipe.”
Post Miranda, Brooks did not want to answer any questions.
Brooks, who told Court Services he has been in the area for about two months and is homeless and unemployed, has been charged with battery on a victim over the age of 65 and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has 12 felony convictions (two violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (two violent), and he has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2020. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $52,000.
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.
Why is he still unemployed? Ward or one of the other commissioners should have hired him to mow their lawns or watch their kids…unless.
He showed up here because all of the bums want to be Ward’s Waifs. They don’t have to work, they can drug out all day. If they get arrested no big deal, they’ll be back out to do whatever they want to. And soon the students will be back so there will be more victims to play with.
Thanks Harvey and the rest of your woke minions for Larry the lunatic. Keep em’ coming…..until the property tax money gets cut off
Larry the lunatic, just earned himself a free stay for at least two or three more years. This is probably the length of time his crime will proceed within the courts.
Does anyone else notice how this news never shows up on ABC local News at night. Most college student parents would be surprised about the crime that goes on in Gainesville. I think they have something worked out with the politicians in this town to keep things quiet.
TV20 doesn’t want to show us crime; it’s been that way since Danny Rolling.
Since when do out-of-town parents watch the local TV20? Online news outlets like this are a better way for the stories to reach parents. This is a news platform, you know. All of this data is also reported and not hidden. It is well known that Gainesville has it’s fair share of crime. There are entire websites catered to parents and prospective students that measure crime in college towns.
Vagrancy: ‘The state of wandering from place to place; having no permanent home or means of livelihood.’
Remember this when it time to reelect that great Mayor of ours and his City Hall staff he backs and the useless members of the Commission. At this point Evan Moon from Walmart Deli is starting to look more experienced than Harvey. Funny how they have money for their own paychecks and every half fixed project around town but can’t control the homeless, help with rising gas and groceries and keep their word to lower taxes. And hey don’t forget your City Manager just increased the fire assessment fees to kick you while you’re already down. Sickening. All of it!
“No good deed shall go unpunished”…
Hopefully that cyclist finally learned a lesson about trying to help the willfully homeless.
Better late than never.