Man on pre-trial release arrested for threatening to kill girlfriend’s parents with machete

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Aaron James Williams, 41, was arrested yesterday and charged with threatening to kill his girlfriend’s parents with a machete.

At about 9:15 a.m. on April 28, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a home in the 1100 block of SE 2nd Avenue, where the victims said they went to the house to help the female victim’s daughter jump-start her car. They said Williams walked out of the house and started yelling at them and then said, “I got something for you” before going back inside; they said that when he came back outside, he was holding a machete, which they described to the officer.

The male victim said Williams started chasing him around the vehicle, yelling, “I’m gonna kill you!” After the male victim took an opportunity to run down the sidewalk to get away, Williams allegedly told the female victim, “I’ll kill you,” while standing near her with the machete. The victims said Williams walked back inside the house and they called 911 and left the area. Both victims told the officer they were in fear for their safety during the incident.

The officer reported that she made contact with Williams at the home; she said she did not see a machete in plain view outside or inside the house, but Williams would not consent to a search of the house.

Post Miranda, Williams reportedly said the victims were trying to bully him and that the male victim had threatened to “knock him out” and threatened his life. He denied taking a machete outside to defend himself or his property and denied making any verbal threats. He later reportedly said he intended to defend himself but still denied grabbing a machete. He said the male victim knows that he owns a machete. He said the victims were previously arrested for “jumping on him” but he dropped the charges, and there is a case in the court system from July 2023 that matches that description.

The arresting officer noted that Williams was seen walking out of his house when she arrived, “giving him enough time to discard the machete inside his residence.”

Williams has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He has 13 felony convictions (none violent) and 15 misdemeanor convictions (two violent); he has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2013. He is on pre-trial release in four cases, one in Orange County and three in Alachua County; in Alachua County, the cases are attempted sexual battery and indecent exposure and felony domestic battery from 2022 (he is scheduled for a change of plea in May in both cases) and a 2024 charge of driving with a suspended license as a habitual offender.

Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him 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.