The following individuals were arrested recently by local law enforcement officers in Bradford, Union, or Clay (Keystone Heights-area) counties. All defendants are considered innocent until convicted in a court or until pleading guilty or no contest. Information in this report is from law enforcement agencies and court documents, which are public records.
Zachary Edward Adams, 25, of Palatka, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 7 for a probation violation.
Leighann Helen Baker, 35, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 10 for drug equipment possession and drug possession.
Earnest Aaron Fowler, 44, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 6 for drug delivery/distribution, drug equipment possession, drug possession, public order crimes, and amphetamine trafficking.
Robert Martin Benjamin Gallion, 48, of Lawtey, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 10 for public order crimes, drug possession, and drug equipment possession.
Isaias Moreno Hernandez, 48, was arrested by FHP troopers on October 5 for a moving traffic violation and a nonmoving traffic violation.
Pedro Demetrius Jonas, 34, of Starke, was arrested by FHP troopers on October 4 for a moving traffic violation, drug possession, drug trafficking, evidence destruction, and drug equipment possession.
Fred Markham, 57, of Keystone Heights, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 7 for a probation violation.
Kyla Jean Morris, 39, of Waldo, was arrested by FHP troopers on October 9 for an out-of-county warrant.
Anthony Leland Pellechio, 26, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 7 for a probation violation.
Monte Seabrook, 31, of Gainesville, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 6 for a probation violation.
Ex used Facebook to track down victim
Joseph Perry Seymour, 40, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 8 for battery, contempt of court, burglary, aggravated battery, kidnapping/false imprisonment, resisting an officer, and larceny.
According to an arrest report, Seymour arrived uninvited at a residence in the area of Northwest County Road 233, also known as Morgan Road and State Road 16 and began yelling at the victim and two other occupants in the living room. The group repeatedly told him to leave, or they would call law enforcement, and Seymour departed.
But about 30 minutes later, he returned, entering the home brandishing a black knife and pointing it at the residents while continuing to shout.
Eyewitnesses said they demanded he leave again, and after locking the north door behind him, they believed the situation was over.
Seymour returned moments later, shoving through the locked door and heading straight for the victim’s bedroom. He tried to force his way inside, but the door was barricaded by a nightstand. Undeterred, Seymour reportedly broke the door frame while yelling threats through the doorway, including one statement overheard by another resident: “I will slit her throat.”
After breaking into the bedroom, and slamming the door on the victim’s arm, fracturing her wrist, the defendant grabbed two cell phones from the nightstand before storming out. As the victim cried out in pain from her injured wrist, one of the other women in the home followed him outside. Video footage captured by a resident’s camera showed Seymour pushing her off the front steps onto a pile of trash bags.
The victim later told deputies that Seymour had been tracking her via Facebook, where her baby shower photos, visible to the public, revealed her pregnancy and location. She noted that all prior contact from him had come through Facebook Messenger, despite active court orders barring communication.
The victim, who had retreated to the bedroom, said Seymour blocked her attempt to leave, shoving her back inside and slamming the door on her wrist as she tried to escape.
“He was telling her she could not go to a friend’s house,” the report stated, adding that another woman intervened, only to be pushed away by Seymour. The entire bedroom altercation was partially recorded on video, which Deputy Michael Gillick reviewed on scene. The footage depicted Seymour at 10:59 p.m. aggressively pushing against the door, yelling about “tomorrow” plans, and physically restraining the victim while she pleaded to be let out. Audio captured her pleas for help to get to the hospital, with Seymour grabbing her wrist and insisting it “was not broken.”
An investigation revealed that the victim is listed as a protected party in a longstanding restraining order against Seymour, originally served on April 21, 2011, and a temporary injunction issued as recently as August 4, 2025, both prohibiting any contact. Court records also show Seymour’s prior conviction for battery on October 24, 2006.
Kymberly Sierra Smith, 36, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 9 for a probation violation.
Ahmad Rashad Strong, 46, of Starke, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 4 for an out-of-county warrant.
Joshua Ethan Wilkerson, 36, of Lawtey, was arrested by Bradford deputies on October 10 for drug equipment possession, possession of a weapon, drug possession, and amphetamine trafficking.
Tried to hide in retention pond
Joseph Jerome Willis, 34, of Jacksonville, was arrested by FHP troopers and Bradford deputies on October 6 for hit and run, resisting an officer, fleeing/eluding police, DUI, and a moving traffic violation.
According to arrest reports, at approximately 11:55 p.m., deputies stationed at a weigh station on the US-301 Bypass near the north interchange clocked a gray Infiniti sedan travelling northbound at 102 mph.
When deputies activated their emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, the driver, later identified as Willis, accelerated and fled south on US-301 into the city.
Deputies lost contact with the defendant and issued a be-on-the-lookout alert, to which FHP trooper Alan Palmer responded.
The trooper wrote that he found the defendant’s vehicle crashed in front of Starke’s Hardees’.
The collision caused extensive damage, demolishing a speed limit sign, landscaping bushes, and a telephone pole.
“Shortly after I spotted a subject later identified…as Mr. Joseph Jerome Willis, near the wood line behind Hardees’,” wrote the officer. “Upon seeing me running towards him, the subject began to run into the woods. At this time, I began to chase Mr. Willis through the woods. Mr. Willis then jumped a fence and went into the retention pond behind Hardees’. Mr. Willis then submerged himself in the water in an attempt to not be spotted.”
Palmer and two deputies then apprehended the defendant and took him back to the crash scene.
Union
David Lee Wade, 36, of Lake City, was arrested by Union deputies on October 7 for a probation violation.
William Michael Hedrick, 44, of Lake Butler, was arrested by Union deputies on October 8 for a conditional release violation.
Tony Joseph Knight, 40, of Otter Creek, was arrested by Union deputies on October 10 for a probation violation.
Mark Alan Ault, 35, of Lake Butler, was arrested by Union deputies on October 13 for aggravated battery by person detained in prison or jail facility.
Clay
Andrew Lewis Archibald, 41, of Keystone Heights, was arrested by Clay deputies on October 9 for driving with a suspended or revoked license
Justin Lee Harris, 34, of Keystone Heights, was arrested by Clay deputies on October 10 for burglary.
Changed his mind when deputy drew taser
Robert Daniel McGee, 22, of Melrose, was arrested by Clay deputies on October 4 for assault and resisting an officer.
Clay deputy Jerred R. Skeen wrote in an arrest report, that deputies J. Decrosta and A. Santillana were first on the scene, encountering the defendant in a highly agitated state, pacing and shouting loudly.
The area was littered with broken glass from a vehicle window, which McGee had allegedly shattered by throwing a drill, along with a broken ceramic pot and other scattered items.
Despite multiple attempts to calm him, McGee remained uncooperative, clenching his fists and making threatening statements toward law enforcement, including Deputies Decrosta and Higginbotham.
When approached by a deputy, McGee assumed a combative stance with balled fists and refused to comply with orders to place his hands behind his back. As the defendant backed away to avoid arrest, Skeen drew his taser, prompting the defendant to halt his retreat. He was then escorted to the ground and handcuffed. During the escort to a patrol car, the 22-year-old resisted, pulling away from Skeen’s grip and kicking Deputy Higginbotham in the left leg while flailing. After being subdued, McGee was searched and placed in a patrol car without further incident.
Joseph William Robson, 65, of Keystone Heights, was arrested by Clay deputies on October 7 for violating a domestic violence injunction.
Kevin Lawerance Thomas, 51, of Starke, was arrested by Clay deputies on October 10 for resisting an officer and exposure of sexual organs, first offense.
