Homeless man with 36 convictions arrested for attacking pedestrian on University Avenue
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Deontre Davone Washington, 35, was arrested yesterday after allegedly attacking a man who was passing by on West University Avenue.
At about 2:05 p.m. on April 4, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the 800 block of West University Avenue, where the victim said he had been walking westbound when Washington approached him from a narrow walkway on the north side of the road and attacked him, hitting and punching him “for no reason.”
The officer reported that the victim had injuries to his face, elbows, and knees.
Post Miranda, Washington reportedly admitted that he had attacked the victim and said it was because the victim had threatened to kill him. The officer reported that Washington kept saying that people were following him, and he kept looking over his shoulder.
Washington, whose address is listed as St. Francis House, has been charged with felony battery. He has nine felony convictions (two violent) and 27 misdemeanor convictions (two violent), and he has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in February 2025. He recently served 45 days in the Alachua County Jail after entering a plea of nolo contendere to prowling at Infinity Hall in November 2025. Judge William Davis set bail at $20,000.
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
Gainesville leadership has got to figure this out and fast! What are we going to do with the homeless population that continue to commit crime after crime? Put them in prison and we all have to pay the bill for their stay and care while in custody. Leave them on the street and we are still paying and people get hurt or even worse, may end up dead by the actions of that person. So if we are going to pay one way or another, lock them up forever, at least our streets will be safer.
Sorry, ain’t going to happen. The most they would do is hire a consultant who might say increase police patrol and that suggestion will disappear because it doesn’t look neighborly. I mean the idiots can’t even put a fence around GPD when asked.
Beardy, You are right. The council and commission don’t like them unfriendly cops. We all need to get around a table and eat hot coffee and muffins and just discuss the problem. We could just defund the cops and put the money to buying more land let the very sick homeless with one another. They can also fight with anyone their poor sick minds can imagine.
The alternative, which is a cheaper way start carrying a gun exercise your second amendment rights and stand your ground law. No hard-working American citizen should have to put up with this nonsense. It would only take a few times the home population would get the picture that we’re tired of it.
That use to be almost possible and this guy would have probably be in a mental institution for life, or a large part of it. Court rulings in the 1980s made committing people against their will difficult – in many ways a good ruling since that ability was abused – but it put many unstable people on the street. Add in increased drug use and the increased price of housing and you have the current NATIONAL – not Gainesville alone – problem.
Like a lot of things, it will take money to fix this and pretending it won’t is a fairy tale.
State Attorneys Office is the problem- they are giving career criminals 60 days jail sentences and releasing them back into the community to reoffend; word spreads-so the career criminals flock to Alachua County. They apparently have a new policy of deferring sex offenders who fail to report- how is none of this a huge story???? see gnvinfo.com
Unfortunately, Gainesville has no leadership–just a bunch of weak, woke, milquetoast losers that only care about keeping themselves in power and lining their own pockets by skimming the city coffers.
The only way to solve the OUT OF CONTROL homeless problem in Gainesville is to shut down GRACE Marketplace and defund all homeless programs except one-way bus tickets to Miami, NYC, San Francisco, etc.
The Gainesville City Commission is like a neighbor that dumps a big pile of food scraps on their driveway every night, and soon the neighborhood is infested with vermin. Stop attracting and feeding these violent drug addicts! The more you spend, the more you attract–it’s a never-ending cycle. Think how nice our roads and public spaces could be if the money was actually spent on services for taxpayers, instead of junkies and ex-cons.
A frontal lobotomy is what they need
Another Ambassador roaming the streets providing informative encounters (assaults) on citizens.
36 convictions. Give him the keys to the city. Ambassador of the year!
Bring Back the Insane Asylums.
And please commit the city commissioners to the asylums as they are obviously crazy for promoting this scourge on our community. What are they going to do when they run off all the paying customers and the businesses move out. There goes their tax base and then they’re coming to you know who to make up the difference.
HE DEFINITELY NEEDS HELP. HE HAVEN’T ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY.. I WAS WITH HIM 3 YEARS… HE REAL SMART HE JUST DON’T HAVE NOBODY BUT THE DRUGS
Being a drug attic or drunk is a choice you got to won’t help before you can be helped and so far this POS has not wanted any help he’d rather keep doing what he’s doing now the court should step in put him away 2530 years until he dries out before he kills an innocent taxpayer
Awww. Its mugshot was posted.
All of his previous SCUMMY ASS JUDGES and public defenders should be arrested and sent to Alcatraz immediately.
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State Attorneys Office is the problem- they are giving career criminals 60 days jail sentences and releasing them back into the community to reoffend; word spreads-so the career criminals flock to Alachua County. They apparently have a new policy of deferring sex offenders who fail to report- how is none of this a huge story???? see gnvinfo.com