Homeless man arrested for punching man who waved at his girlfriend

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brantley Jim Edward Gardner, 35, was arrested yesterday for allegedly punching a man who waved at his girlfriend.

At about 7 p.m. on August 4, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a redacted location that appears to be GRACE Marketplace. The first victim said he had just been dropped off and thought he saw a woman he knew; he waved at the woman, but then he realized he did not know her. He said a man walked up to him, yelling at him that he should not touch or talk to his girlfriend, and when he turned to walk away, the man punched him on the back of his head, causing redness on the back of his head.

The second victim reportedly said that after Gardner hit the first victim, he told him he shouldn’t have hit the victim in front of the office gate; he said Gardner was still upset and yelled at him before suddenly punching him in the face. The officer reported that the second victim had an open cut on his face.

The officer found Gardner walking back to the front gate and detained him; Gardner reportedly stated spontaneously that he had hit the first victim because he pointed at his girlfriend, and he thought he was threatening her. He said he hit the second victim because the second victim was yelling at him and his girlfriend, including using racial slurs. He said he was only defending his girlfriend from the victims.

The officer reported that surveillance video showed the first victim waving at someone out of the camera’s view before Gardner walks up and yells at him; when the first victim turns to walk away, Gardner punches him in the back of the head. The second incident was not captured on video.

Gardner, who told Court Services he has been in the area for two weeks and lives at GRACE Marketplace, has been charged with battery. He has eight felony convictions (one violent) and 11 misdemeanor convictions (two violent). Judge Meshon Rawls 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.