Man on probation arrested for punching woman and stealing her purse after offering to help her find her car

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jontavious Lanard Alston, 28, was arrested yesterday morning after he was identified as the suspect who allegedly punched a woman and broke bones in her face when she declined to have sex with him after he offered to help her find her car; he also allegedly snatched her purse, phone, and car keys, used her Cash App card to withdraw cash, and used her phone to try to get her relatives to send her money via Cash App.

A Chiefland woman told a Gainesville Police Department officer that at about 7 a.m. on July 13, she was lost downtown and couldn’t remember where she had parked her car. She said a man offered her water and suggested that they rest at the First United Methodist Church. When they sat down, she said, the man exposed himself and asked her to have sex with him. When she refused, the man hit her in the face multiple times and then ripped her purse from her body, took her car keys from her hand, and fled the area. The responding officer reported that the victim’s nose and orbital bone were broken and required surgery; she also needed 20 stitches.

The victim described her attacker as a black male in his late 20s, wearing black shorts and a white shirt and with tattoos covering his shins.

The victim’s family members reportedly received text messages from her phone, which had been in her purse, asking that money be sent to her Cash App.

The victim’s phone was pawned at an EcoATM on July 14, and the officer recovered the phone. A review of the phone reportedly showed that “Jake Alston” had logged into the Facebook application on the victim’s phone; the officer used that profile to identify the suspect as Jontavious Alston, who has leg tattoos consistent with the victim’s description.

The victim’s Cash App debit card was also in her purse, and Alston allegedly used the card to make several fraudulent transactions after the robbery. Video from several of the transactions reportedly showed Alston making the transactions; in at least two of the videos, he was wearing a white shirt and black shorts. The victim also identified Alston as her attacker in a photo line-up.

Alston was arrested in the 4100 block of SW 17th Place on July 30. Post Miranda, he reportedly admitted that he was with the victim downtown, but he said she purchased drugs from him and gave him her phone and Cash App card to get payment using the card. He said he was supposed to get cash using the card and then return the phone and card to the victim, but he never returned them. He said he used the card and gave the phone away. He reportedly denied exposing himself or hitting her and said she was fine when he left her.

Alston has been charged with robbery by sudden snatching, felony battery, fraudulent use of a dedit card, indecent exposure, and theft. His listed address is in Waldo, but court documents show that he has not lived there for two months and does not know his current address. He is a career offender who has two felony convictions (none violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served two state prison sentences with his most recent release in March 2023 and is currently on probation for grand theft. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $165,000 on the new charges and ordered him held without bail for violating probation.

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.