Hawthorne Man Arrested for Battery and Assault After Multi- Day Search

HAWTHORNE ‒ A 61-year-old Hawthorne man was arrested on Monday, July 29, 2024, following a multi-day search and two violent incidents at a Grove Park residence.

At about 5:20 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a residence in the Grove Park area, where the victim said Michael Gregory Wilkinson had thrown a dinner plate at him, resulting in an injury that was bleeding severely. The victim said he’d had to place a makeshift tourniquet on his arm.

The victim reportedly told the deputy that he and Wilkinson had gotten into an argument in the backyard of the residence and Wilkinson threw a plate at him and then left on foot. The deputy noted that the victim lives at the residence and Wilkinson stays there “sporadically.”

Alachua County Fire Rescue reportedly told the deputy they needed to keep the tourniquet on the victim’s arm and would transport him to the hospital for treatment.

The deputy reported that Wilkinson was not found after “an extensive canvass of the area was completed.”

At about 12:15 p.m. the next day, a deputy responded to the same residence, where the victim said he had seen Wilkinson sitting in the backyard and asked someone inside the residence to call 911. He said he told Wilkinson not to leave, but Wilkinson allegedly picked up a metal pipe, swung it at the victim five times, then threw the pipe at him and ran.

A K-9 team was unable to locate Wilkinson at the time, but he was arrested the following day at a residence on Southeast County Road 2082.

Wilkinson has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with the intent to commit a felony. He has two felony convictions and seven misdemeanor convictions, four of which were violent.

He was arrested for felony battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2022, but the charges were later dropped.

Bail was set at $90,000 by Judge Kristine Van Vorst.

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