Man arrested after threatening to “kill every one of you”

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Vincent Gerard Stephens, 48, was arrested today after beating a pregnant woman and threatening to shoot multiple people at the Windsor Terrace complex at 3520 SW 20th Avenue.

The incident began Thursday, when Stephens’ girlfriend (the victim) kicked him out of the apartment they had shared since July. Stephens had previously visited a doctor with his girlfriend and was present when she learned that she was pregnant. Stephens returned to the apartment at 2:00 a.m. Thursday night and told his girlfriend to go to sleep; he then sat on her bed as she slept. She awoke around 11:00 a.m. on Friday when Stephens called a neighbor on her phone, then she left the apartment to help the neighbor pack.

While the victim was at the neighbor’s apartment, another woman (“Y”) arrived, and Stephens said Y was there to fight the neighbor for him. The victim tried to defuse the situation, which made Stephens angry. Stephens allegedly threw a table at the victim, striking her in the head. Then he allegedly kicked her out of her chair and struck her multiple times.

Around 3:00 p.m., Stephens was allegedly swinging a black handgun, saying “I’ll give you a chance to shoot me” and claiming that the victim makes him do this. He then allegedly struck the victim in the face with the handgun, then left and told Y to watch the victim while he was gone. The victim reported that she was afraid to leave for fear that Stephens would kill her.

While Stephens was gone, law enforcement responded to a call at the location; at that time, the victim told officers that nothing happened and she was okay.

Later, Stephens returned to the location and reportedly yelled at Y for not watching the victim. He said someone took his handgun at Southern Pines, and he was upset about that. He then allegedly began destroying items, including hitting the victim’s scooter with a bat. He also allegedly hit the victim with a dog gate. Stephens allegedly said he would kill the victim before the police could stop him. He also allegedly threatened to beat or kill several other people and that he was ready to die.

A second victim, a male, arrived at the location after midnight Friday night and began arguing with Stephens. Stephens’ girlfriend tried to get in the second victim’s car, but he wouldn’t let her. She then began knocking on doors, asking for help, and was finally taken in by a neighbor.

Stephens then allegedly pointed a black handgun at the male victim and said, “I’ll kill every one of you.”

Stephens was arrested around 9:00 a.m. today and charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant female, domestic aggravated assault, and false imprisonment against his girlfriend, along with aggravated assault against the male victim. The arresting officer reported that the girlfriend had injuries consistent with her statements.

Stephens has a history of domestic battery going back to 1997 and spent a year in prison in 2013 on a charge of felony battery – repeat offender. He had three convictions on drug charges between 2013 and 2016, and he has a pending simple battery charge against a different victim from August 16, 2021. He is currently being held at the Alachua County Jail.