OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A Port St. Lucie man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and charged with four felonies, including domestic battery by strangulation and kidnapping, false imprisonment, with the crimes going on for nearly three hours, on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, at the residence of the victim in Ocala.
Gavin Parker Johnson, 24, Port St. Lucie, was arrested on the following charges: committing domestic battery by strangulation, felony; kidnapping, false imprisonment, felony; hindering, delaying or preventing communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of information in relation to the commission or possible commission of an offense or violation, felony and criminal mischief, occupying a dwelling or commercial property and causing $1,000 or more in damages to property. The accused was also charged with a misdemeanor for battery causing bodily harm. Johnson is being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.
On Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call about a possible battery, and while en route, the deputy received information that had been given to dispatch about the call.
The individual who reported the incident, stated that an unknown woman, who would later be identified as the victim, was sitting on the porch with blood on her shirt near her shoulder. The person who reported the crime said that the victim told him that she was beat up and had been attacked by the accused at her residence. The victim would later change her story while recounting the incident while sharing the narrative with the man who reported the crime, informing him that her house had been broken into. The victim said she had no information about the incident being that she had blacked out.
However, she would confirm that the accused was her boyfriend, but he wasn’t at the location of the incident and only provided his name because she didn’t know what was happening. The victim told the individual who contacted authorities that she was asleep at the time of the break-in, and when she awoke, she had a black eye.
Visible evidence
When MCSO arrived on the scene and made contact with the victim, he observed swelling and bruising around the left eye, blood on the sleeve and chest area of her robe, bruising and a split lip, bruising around her right eye, swelling and redness on her right cheek and right ear. The victim’s injuries were consistent with her being battered in the face.
Paramedics from Marion County Fire and Rescue no. 18 were dispatched due to the victim’s injuries, to medically evaluate the victim.
The deputy asked the victim what happened, and she reiterated that someone broke into her house, and attacked her while she was sleeping. When asked who might have attacked her, the victim said she didn’t know and that everyone hates her. The victim said she wouldn’t be able to provide a specific name because she didn’t know who attacked her.
Stranger in the house
The deputy who responded to the call, was joined by another deputy and they proceeded to the victim’s residence for further investigation. Upon arriving at the scene, they found a front window screen in the driveway appearing to be forcefully removed. The blinds to the window appeared to be bent and were pushed against the window. And then, the deputy, while looking through the blinds, observed a human foot in the bed.
It was through entering the back of the residence through an open gate, the deputy observed what appeared to be hygiene products and makeup products strewn across the grass. While approaching the backside of the residence, the vigilant deputy observed the sliding glass door to be open and the screen door to be off the railing. Due to the possibility of a home invasion, the location had to be cleared before entering the dwelling, with the sheriff’s announcement being made before law enforcement accessed the residence.
Looking for an escape route
Authorities saw the accused by the front door. The alleged was brought outside of the dwelling and was detained in handcuffs, where he was repeatedly saying that he was trying to turn the water off. The accused was placed in the back of the patrol car.
Destructive demeanor
When law enforcement entered the home, they noticed the dwelling had approximately an inch of water throughout the residence. The deputy noticed there was blood on the door in the kitchen, the back of the toilet in the guest bathroom was broken, the shower curtain was on the floor and had blood on it, there was also blood on the bathroom wall and counter. It appeared that a fresh hole had been made in the drywall behind the bathroom door. A gold necklace was found on the living room floor near the master bedroom.
The master bedroom door frame was splintered and cracked with signs of forced entry. In the master bedroom itself, it appeared the door was forced open and had blood on the outside of the door. In the shower, a shelf was found on the floor, and a broken pottery dish was on the shower floor, men’s shaving cream was on the wall inside the master bedroom, and the blinds had been pushed against the window. Assorted items were scattered on one side of the room.
When the deputy exited the residence, he noticed a broken fish tank in the living room. The front door was also damaged and appeared to be forced open.
Incriminating injuries
The accused had scratch marks on his neck and chest, a small cut on his knee, and cuts on his arm. When authorities asked the alleged about his wounds, he said, they came from the fish tank. He also told authorities that he had another address located in Northeast Ocala and was residing at the victim’s address as they were in a relationship. The accused became irate and was placed in the back of the patrol car.
Another MCSO deputy made contact with the victim in the ambulance, and she stated that she was at home drinking with the accused and another man on Oct. 23. She fell asleep and didn’t know if they had left. When she awoke on Oct. 24, a man was over her and struck her multiple times in the face and head. She was able to get away from him, exiting through a door and window. She wasn’t able to provide any additional information about the other man.
The deputy also spoke with the person who reported the call, who told authorities the victim told him she was beat up by her boyfriend in her home, and provided the name of the accused. However, when the victim spoke with the 911 dispatcher, she said, ‘Should I say his name.’ before stating that someone broke into her home, but she didn’t know who.
An MCSO Sgt. spoke with the victim asking her during the attack, if she remembered fighting back, she said, “yes, wouldn’t you?”
Building a case
The injuries on the victim, and with the alleged having defensive wounds, in concert with the informanti0n that had been collected, the deputy was able to ascertain that the accused was the primary aggressor. The alleged was read his Miranda warning, and he requested that his attorney be present. It was determined that based on the circumstances, and the possibility of additional violence the accused was placed under arrest and transferred to the Marion County Jail.
While the deputy was filling out his paperwork, he was contacted by an MCSO Lieutenant., who told him, the victim came to the south district office to clarify with authorities what had occurred. The accused had become enraged when the victim called his grandfather to talk to the alleged because of his emotional state. The accused began beating the victim in the face and about her body, choking her several times causing her to pass out. The battery began about 11 p.m. on Oct. 23 and ended at about 2 a.m. on Oct. 24. It was during that time she was held down and not allowed to leave.
The accused told the victim several times, if she called law enforcement, he would kill her. The MCSO Lt. told the deputy that the victim was covered in bruises and both eyes were swollen, with her left eye swollen shut. Her left earing appeared ripped out of her ear.
In fear for her life
The victim told law enforcement the reason she had lied initially was because she feared that she was going to be killed by the accused if he wasn’t arrested. She told authorities that she had been beaten on previous occasions and the alleged had threatened her life if she were to report it to authorities.