Man on pre-trial release arrested for cutting victims with camp saw

Staff report

Updated on November 5 with pre-trial detention information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brandon Levelle Lindsey, 40, was arrested early yesterday morning and charged with attempted homicide and aggravated battery after allegedly attacking two people with a folding camp saw.

The female victim told the responding Gainesville Police Department officer that she had met Lindsey at Steak ‘n Shake (3714 SW 42nd St.) at about 5:15 a.m. to get her e-bike from him when they started arguing. She said Lindsey jumped on her and produced a folding camp saw; she said she grabbed the blade to push it away from her face, and that was when the male victim came to assist her. The officer reported that the female victim had lacerations on her hands that supported her story.

The male victim said he was on the other side of SW 42nd Street when he heard a man and woman arguing, and he went over to see what was wrong. He said he got into a verbal argument with Lindsey and said he was going to check on the female victim, but Lindsey said, “No, you’re not… I’ll kill you.” He said Lindsey knocked him to the ground, tried to put the saw to his neck, and kept saying he was going to kill him; he said he “fish-hooked” Lindsey by putting a finger in his mouth and Lindsey bit his finger. He said he managed to get up and ran away, and Lindsey did not chase him. The officer reported that the male victim had cuts on his arm that supported his story.

When officers asked Lindsey about the camp saw, he allegedly ran; he was later found in the Walmart parking lot and again ran into the woods, where he was eventually arrested.

A witness at a nearby hotel reported that he heard people yelling and saw one man on the ground with two people “standing around yelling.”

Post Miranda, Lindsey reportedly said the male victim had the camp saw first, and he took it from him, then the female victim grabbed the blade, and they all started wrestling over it. He said that after they finished wrestling, he voluntarily walked over to a police car and presented his ID and a pocket knife. He said he had the camp saw, but he ran when he was asked about it because it wasn’t his and his fingerprints would be on it. He said he fled at Walmart because he was nervous, but then he gave up because he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Lindsey has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated battery, and resisting an officer without violence. He has four felony convictions (three violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (one violent) and has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in December 2023. He was arrested in Gainesville on September 20 for drug possession after he was identified as the suspect in an armed disturbance with a knife; he was not charged with anything related to the knife or the armed disturbance and was released on $10,000 bail. Judge William Davis ordered him held without bail on the new charges, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial. On November 5, Judge James Colaw ordered him held without bail until trial.

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.