Prison inmate charged with attempted murder in June at tent camp near GRACE, second man charged with fraudulent use of card stolen from victim

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jontavious Lanard Alston, 28, has been charged with attempted murder and armed robbery for allegedly beating a homeless man with a metal pipe, seriously injuring the victim. Alston and Michael Andre Fields, 57, have been charged with fraudulent use of a debit card and criminal use of another person's identity for allegedly using the victim's debit card to withdraw money from his bank account.

According to Alston's arrest report, on June 2, he repeatedly struck a man with a metal pipe in a tent near the GRACE Marketplace and forced the victim to give him his debit card PIN. The Gainesville Police Department officer who responded found the victim was beaten so severely that he was intubated and in critical condition for several days. When the victim was able to speak with an officer about three weeks after the attack, he reportedly said he believed three people who live at the GRACE Marketplace were involved, but he did not remember the incident well.

Fields reportedly lived in the tent camp near the victim. A witness said he was present during the attack but did not see him strike the victim.

A second witness told an officer he gave Alston, Fields and a third person a ride to the Circle K at 5200 NE Waldo Road the night of the fight. He said all three people were sweaty and he thought they had been in a fight. He said they talked about the debit card on the way to the store and Alston tried to use the victim's debit card in the store but it didn't work, so Fields went inside to help and told Alston the PIN again. The officer reported that surveillance video from the store confirmed this.

The victim's bank records show that $103.99 was withdrawn from his bank account at Circle K shortly after midnight on June 3, and a second withdrawal of $23.99 occurred a few minutes later. The officer reported that both Alston and Fields can be seen on the store's surveillance video at this time. Later that evening on June 3, there was another ATM withdrawal of $103 at a different location.

After being arrested on July 30 for assaulting and robbing a woman downtown, Alston reportedly identified himself on Circle K surveillance video during a post-Miranda check interview. He said the second witness drove them to the store and helped Fields check his account balance because Fields didn't know how to use the ATM. However, a week later, he reportedly refused to speak to the officer and denied knowing Fields.

A third witness allegedly told the officer that Alston, Fields and the third man who went to the store with them were all involved in beating the victim and stealing his debit card. He reportedly identified Alston and Fields on the Circle K surveillance video and said Fields “lied” to him when he said he went to the ATM with Alston.

The person identified as the third person who was with Alston and Fields on the night of the fight reportedly denied being at GRACE Marketplace or Circle K during the incidents.

In an interview after the Miranda review on August 13, Fields allegedly said he saw Alston beat the victim on June 2; he said he was in the tent when the victim gave Alston his PIN, but he said he was trying to help the victim, not Alston. He allegedly identified himself on Circle K surveillance video and confirmed that the second witness drove them to the store. He denied being involved in the attempted murder or the robbery, and said he only went to the store with Alston to prevent him from taking the victim's money. He said when they finished at Circle K, they drove back to GRACE together and Alston kept the debit card. Fields allegedly said the third person was not involved in the beating or the fraud.

Alston, who is currently incarcerated in the Alachua County Jail on charges of robbery by sudden robbery, assault, fraudulent use of a debit card, exhibitionism and theft, is described in a court document as a career criminal who has two felony convictions (non-violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he has served two sentences in state prison, with his most recent release date in March 2023, and was on probation for grand larceny at the time of his July 30 arrest. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail on the new charges pending a hearing on a motion by prosecutors to hold him without bail pending trial.

Fields was arrested on August 13, and a search during the arrest reportedly turned up 0.2 grams of methamphetamine, adding possession of a controlled substance to the fraud charges. Fields has been convicted of two felony offenses (one for violence) and four misdemeanor offenses (three for violence) and has served two sentences in state prison. He was last released in 1996. According to court records, he also served a prison sentence in New York for drug possession. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $220,000.

Articles about arrests are based on law enforcement reports. The charges listed are from the arrest report and/or court records and are merely allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.