Man on pre-trial release arrested for attempted homicide

Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Jayce Benjamin Timmons, 22, was arrested early this morning and charged with attempted homicide after allegedly battering a woman.

At about 2:16 a.m. on December 20, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to Vanguard Apartments in Newberry, where the deputy reported hearing a faint cry for help. A short time later, the victim ran out of the apartment and yelled for help again. The deputy reported that the victim was covered in blood and limping, and she collapsed on the ground. The victim had extensive bruising and scratches and told the deputy she had been in and out of consciousness.

The deputy went inside and reported finding Timmons standing in the hall, with blood on his pants and shoes but no obvious injuries.

The victim reportedly said that Timmons had punched her the previous night at a restaurant, so she went home without him, but he followed her home and entered the apartment with a key that he had taken without her consent. She said he took her car key and snapped it, preventing her from leaving in her vehicle.

She said she and Timmons argued, and then he started hitting and kicking her. She said Timmons said he didn’t care if she died, and at another point, he said he was going to kill her.

The victim said Timmons stopped hitting her when the deputy rang the doorbell and said, “Oh, look, they came to save you; now I’m going to go to prison.” The victim said she was sure that Timmons intended to kill her, and she believed he would have succeeded if the deputy had not arrived. She said she scratched Timmons so he could be identified by the skin under her nails if he killed her.

Post Miranda, Timmons reportedly said the victim was acting crazy when he arrived at the apartment. He said he didn’t know where the blood on his pants and shoes came from, and he didn’t know how the victim and apartment came to be covered in blood.

Timmons has been charged with attempted homicide (committing a felony that could lead to death), hindering a victim’s communication with law enforcement, false imprisonment, and misdemeanor property damage (for breaking the car key). His full criminal history is unavailable, but he is on pre-trial release for a hit and run crash in Hillsborough County and is facing an Alachua County charge of driving without a valid license. A sworn complaint for domestic battery was filed against him in September 2025, but the charge was later dropped. Judge Julie Johnson 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.