Pair arrested for burglary and battery after woman allegedly took her ‘best friend’ to confront victim about ‘stealing her man’

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Autumn Jayne Brooks, 38, and Amber Lea Luchesi, 36, have been charged with burglary and battery after Brooks allegedly took Luchesi with her to confront a woman about “stealing her man.”

At about 4:46 p.m. on January 4, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a call from a woman who was bleeding from a cut on her forehead. She told the officer that she had been at her cousin’s house the previous evening, and while she was standing outside, her child’s father arrived, riding as a passenger in a white Mercedes. She said she argued briefly with him before walking away.

The victim said the next day (January 4), she was awakened by banging on her door, and when she answered the door, she found two women standing on her porch. She said one of them asked her whether she remembered them from the previous night; she said she didn’t recognize the woman at first but then saw the white Mercedes parked in her driveway.

She said she asked the women why they were at her house, and one of them, later identified as Luchesi, said, “You got the right one” and started punching her. She said she backed into her house and both women followed her inside.

Luchesi allegedly backed the victim into a corner, punching her, while the second woman, later identified as Brooks, allegedly hit her in the head with brass knuckles. The victim said the brass knuckles fell to the ground at one point, and Brooks pulled a handgun from her hoodie pocket; she said Brooks fumbled with the gun before both women ran from the house and left in the Mercedes. The victim said Brooks got into the driver’s seat, and the victim began taking video of the car, but it backed all the way down the road, preventing her from getting a picture of the tag.

The officer reported that the video showed a “white Mercedes sedan with very distinctive custom chrome wheels and a front license plate which says ‘Autumn.'”

The victim was transported to the emergency room for treatment.

The officer reported that he spoke to the victim’s child’s father, who said he was “familiar” with the driver of the white Mercedes but did not know her name.

The victim told the officer that someone called her and said the white Mercedes was parked at Sweetwater Square apartments and was owned by Autumn Brooks. The officer reported that he found a picture on Brooks’ Facebook page of her standing next to the same Mercedes, and the victim positively identified her as the woman who had the brass knuckles and the gun.

The officer determined that Brooks owns a 2019 white Mercedes; traffic cameras reportedly showed her tag on a white Mercedes that was “easy to identify” as the same one.

The officer spoke with Brooks by phone, and she reportedly said she had gone to the victim’s house with her daughter and her “best friend of several months” to confront the victim about “being accused of stealing her man.” She said the victim immediately attacked them and dragged them into her residence. She said they ran out, got into her car, and fled. She said they called 911 but the call taker said they were not going to send an officer. She denied having brass knuckles or a gun.

The officer reported that he asked Brooks how she knew where the victim lived, and Brooks said she didn’t; she said she just happened to be in the area when the victim threw something at her car as she drove by. When the officer asked where Brooks stopped her car, she reportedly said she pulled into the driveway and then knocked on the victim’s door. When the officer asked why she needed to knock on the door if the victim was outside throwing something at her car, Brooks was reportedly unable to explain.

When the officer asked for her “best friend’s” name, Brooks reportedly said she only knew her as “Wifey” and gave the officer her phone number. Brooks reportedly said her daughter recorded the incident and promised to send the video, but the officer reported that he had not received the video.

The officer reported that the Combined Communications Center had no record of a call from Brooks after the incident.

A query on “Wifey’s” phone number reportedly came back to Luchesi, who also matched the description given by the victim. The officer administered a six-person photo line-up to the victim, who reportedly picked Luchesi from the line-up.

Luchesi was arrested on March 20 and charged with battery and burglary with battery. She has two felony convictions (none violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (none violent). A battery case from 2022 was dropped. The State Attorney’s office filed a motion to hold her without bail until trial, but Judge James Colaw denied the motion and set bail at $250,000; she remains in the Alachua County Jail.

Brooks was arrested on March 30 and charged with armed burglary and burglary with battery. She has no criminal convictions, but she was arrested in 2024 for shooting at a man she was dating, and a sworn complaint was filed in February alleging that she pointed a gun at the same victim and threatened to kill him; both cases were dropped. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold her 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.