Gainesville Man Takes Plea Deal in Aggravated Battery Case After Victim Dies

On Monday, Chester Lee James, 53, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Court documents identify the deadly weapon as a knife or sharp object. The case was resolved through a no-contest plea agreement that came after the victim died, seemingly due to unrelated circumstances. 

The plea form indicates there were probation-related negotiations between James and prosecutors that didn't work out.

James was arrested last year by the Gainesville Police Department and he’s been held without bond. 

According to the police report, James accused his on-again-off-again girlfriend of 25 years of cheating on him and yelled at her. The victim stood up and immediately felt a sharp pain in her stomach. The victim grabbed her stomach and saw blood on her hand.

Police described the victim’s wounds as “large, deep lacerations across her entire stomach that is consistent with a slashing wound.” The police report describes the victim’s condition as "stable" but that the extent of the injury was still being evaluated. 

The police report indicates that officers had a hard time arresting James because he refused to exit his residence and they believed he was armed.

The victim died roughly eight months after this incident. 

The plea agreement was accepted by Judge Denise Ferrero.

James currently remains in the Alachua County Jail awaiting transportation to a Florida Department of Corrections facility.