Man arrested for beating woman with stick

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Maurice Lee Jackson, 67, was arrested last night and charged with domestic aggravated battery after allegedly hitting a woman with a stick, causing injuries that required medical treatment.

At about 9:45 p.m. on January 31, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to a call from a bystander who said a man was beating up a woman in the 200 block of NE Waldo Road. When officers arrived, Jackson and the victim were still in the area, and the caller confirmed that they were the people he’d called about.

The victim reportedly said that she and Jackson had gotten into an argument and she tried to walk away, but he pushed her to the ground and prevented her from leaving; she said he started punching her and then hit her with a wooden stick until the police officers arrived. The officer reported that the victim’s arm was injured to the point where she struggled to move it and her lips were actively bleeding, and she was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.

Post Miranda, Jackson reportedly denied that there had been any physical fight; he said he believed she was purchasing drugs, and they got into an argument. Jackson reportedly changed his story later to admit that he had prevented the victim from walking away and grabbed her by the wrist.

When an officer asked Jackson how the victim’s lip had been injured, Jackson denied hitting the victim. He reportedly admitted later that he may have accidentally head-butted the victim. He said the victim had a stick and he took it from her and threw it onto the ground, but he did not hit her with a stick. However, the officer noted that surveillance video showed Jackson standing over the victim while she was on the ground, raising a stick over his head and “violently” hitting her multiple times.

The officer noted that there were multiple fresh-cut sticks in the area that were about an inch in diameter and about two feet long, and due to the size of the sticks, Jackson could have caused great bodily harm or death to the victim if he had continued hitting her with the stick.

When an officer showed Jackson the surveillance video, he reportedly changed his story again and admitted to hitting the victim with the stick, but he said it was accidental; he reportedly admitted that he lost control during the incident.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a glass pipe, and post Miranda, Jackson reportedly said it was used to smoke crack, but he took it from the victim.

Jackson has been charged with domestic aggravated battery causing bodily harm, false imprisonment, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has five felony convictions (two violent) and 10 misdemeanor convictions (three violent) and has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2017. Judge Gloria Walker ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

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.