Jail inmate charged with 40 new misdemeanors after allegedly calling domestic battery victim 84 times on free jail phones

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Clifton Twayne Rushing, 43, an inmate at the Alachua County Jail, has been charged with 40 new misdemeanors after allegedly calling the victim in his domestic battery case 84 times using the free phone calls available to jail inmates; the victim has failed to appear at a hearing in the case and is facing a contempt of court charge.

Rushing was arrested on February 23 for domestic battery with a prior battery conviction and domestic battery by strangulation, and Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $100,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim in that case.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office investigation found that Rushing started using the jail phone system to reach the victim after his first appearance hearing; his first call was reportedly to a family member, and he allegedly asked that person to tell the victim to go to the State Attorney’s office and get the charges dropped.

Rushing also allegedly asked the family member to set up a three-way call with the victim on February 24, just a few hours after he was ordered to have no contact with her. On February 25, Rushing allegedly called the victim directly and told her again to tell the State Attorney’s office to drop the charges; he allegedly told her that she should refuse to cooperate in the case and should tell the State Attorney’s office that she would not show up to court.

Rushing has allegedly contacted the victim directly 84 times through the jail phone system.

According to the court docket in his case, a subpoena was issued to the victim on March 5, instructing her to appear before an Assistant State Attorney on March 24, and she failed to appear. On March 30, Judge James Colaw issued an Order for Rule to Show Cause why she should not be held in contempt, requiring the victim to appear in court on April 16; the order states that she may be arrested if she fails to appear on that date.

On April 6, formal charges were filed in the domestic battery case.

Rushing has been charged with 40 counts of violating his pre-trial release conditions (pre-trial release conditions also apply to defendants who are awaiting trial in jail). He has 12 felony convictions (seven violent) and 15 misdemeanor convictions (three violent), and he has served seven state prison sentences, with his most recent release in June 2025. Judge Meshon Rawls added $200,000 bail ($5,000 per charge) for the new charges.

Click here to read our article about the costs associated with the Alachua County Commission’s decision to make jail phone calls free.

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.