Alachua Woman Arrested for Hitting Juvenile with a Hammer

ALACHUA – A 50-year-old Alachua woman was arrested Feb. 18, 2026, and charged with aggravated child abuse following allegations that she struck a juvenile girl in the head with a hammer during a December altercation involving multiple children.

According to the Alachua Police Department, officers responded at approximately 5:52 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2025, to the 13300 block of Northwest 155^th Place after receiving numerous calls reporting a fight involving several people.

A caller reportedly told dispatchers that children were fighting when an adult intervened and struck a juvenile victim in the head with a hammer.

Officers were provided with a photograph of a vehicle allegedly associated with the incident. Investigators determined the vehicle belonged to Sherrita Marquette Poitier, who lives near the location of the altercation. Police also learned that Poitier’s child was involved in the fight.

According to the arrest report, multiple witnesses submitted sworn written statements stating that Poitier participated in the altercation and struck the juvenile victim in the head or face with a hammer. The detective assigned to the case wrote that the statements indicated Poitier engaged in the fight rather than attempting to stop it.

Witnesses reported that the victim sustained a laceration above her eye that required stitches.

According to those statements, after striking the juvenile, Poitier allegedly threatened others at the scene with the hammer, dropped it, picked it up again and then left the area in her vehicle.

A detective later contacted Poitier by phone. According to the report, she denied involvement in the fight and said she did not know how her name became associated with the incident. When informed that multiple witnesses had identified her as the person who injured the victim, she again denied involvement and questioned how others could say it was her.

Poitier reportedly did not admit to participating in the fight. However, according to the report, she stated that her child, who was involved in the altercation, had previously been “jumped” by other children. She told the detective she had not contacted law enforcement about those incidents because her child “fights back.”

Poitier has been charged with aggravated child abuse, a felony.

Court records indicate she has no local criminal history.

An arrest warrant signed by Judge James Colaw ordered Poitier held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office seeking to keep her in custody without bond until trial. If that motion is denied, bail will be set at the hearing.

The case remains pending.

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