Gainesville Man Arrested for Felony Battery by Repeat Offender
Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers arrested Xavier Johnny McNeail, 36, last week and charged him with felony domestic battery by a repeat offender.
According to the arrest report, the victim told police she was at her friend’s house when McNeail showed up unannounced and asked her to walk with him to their shed.
While walking to the shed, McNeail reportedly started yelling and told the victim she was “trying” him, causing her to say she wanted to go back to her friend’s house. McNeail then grabbed the victim by the shirt and pulled her necklaces off her neck in a tussle, the arrest report states.
Before the victim could get away, McNeail reportedly punched her in the eye, leaving a visible bruise.
While GPD Officer Gregory Meshes was interviewing the victim, McNeail approached them on his bike. McNeail "spontaneously screamed that the victim was lying and that he never hit her," Meshes reported.
McNeail told Meshes he was riding her bike alongside the victim when she began to yell at him for “no reason.” McNeail said the victim hit him, causing him to fall off his bike. McNeail said he pushed the victim to get him away from her, and “his hand accidentally got entangled in her necklaces, and he accidentally snatched them off of her neck.” He denied punching the victim and said, “The bump has always been there.”
The Alachua County Jail is holding McNeail on a $50,000 bond.
In 2009, McNeail was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery, but the case was dropped because the victim didn’t want to prosecute, court records show.
In 2015, McNeail was charged with felony battery, but the case was dropped before a warrant was issued because the victim didn’t want to prosecute, court records show.
In 2016, McNeail was convicted of domestic battery for beating the victim while she drove and he was in the passenger seat. He was sentenced to one year of probation.
In 2020, McNeail was charged with domestic battery, but the case was dropped before a warrant was issued, with court records not specifying the reason.
In 2024, McNeail was charged with robbery for allegedly jumping a woman with several other people and taking her belongings. The case was dropped before a warrant was issued, with court records not specifying the reason.
The State Attorney’s Office has not yet formally filed the charges in McNeail's current case.
