Man With Multiple Dropped Felonies Sustains Misdemeanor Battery Conviction
On December 16, 2025, Douglas Alexander Strain, 25, was convicted after pleading no contest to a count of misdemeanor battery in a plea deal accepted by Judge Susan Miller-Jones.
Strain has been arrested on numerous occasions but has only sustained two misdemeanor convictions.
Incident 1:
In early May 2022, Strain was arrested by the University of Florida Police Department for stealing a red backpack near Library West.
The arrest report indicates officers caught Strain red-handed and he confessed. Police charged him with one count of petty theft, but prosecutors dropped the case later that month.
Incident 2:
In April 2024, Strain was arrested on several felony charges.
According to the arrest report, Strain and a female relative were having domestic issues, causing her to tell him to move out of the house, which he did. Sometime later, Strain returned, and she denied him entry.
Strain was alleged to have broken inside the home by breaking a window of a glass back door before beating the victim unconscious. The arrest report states Strain then “instructed” a 12-year-old family member to get in his vehicle with him.
The arrest report goes on to state, “Deputies responding to the incident location spotted the vehicle driven by the Defendant and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The Defendant did not obey with the traffic stop and fled from deputies while placing the general public and [the minor victim] in danger. During this pursuit, [the minor victim] told the Defendant that patrol deputies were behind him to which the Defendant said he was trying to keep him safe. The Defendant eventually [lost] control of the vehicle and crashed. Deputies were able to place the Defendant in custody and provide medical aid to [the minor victim].”
Strain gave an interview with police where he reportedly “provided details that were inconsistent with the evidence presented on scene and witness statements.”
The following month, prosecutors declined to prosecute nearly all of Strain’s charges. He later took a plea deal on a count of resisting an officer without violence, a misdemeanor. Strain was granted a withheld adjudication and sentenced to 48 months of probation.
Incident 3:
In late May 2025, Strain was arrested and charged with property damage after shooting a BB gun towards an American flag affixed to a vehicle.
Strain told Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputies he was “pissed off at America” after seeing members of their agency conducting a traffic stop on a Hispanic driver.
Prosecutors declined to prosecute the case.
Incident 4:
According to court records, the day before Strain was arrested for the BB gun incident, he was reported for entering the Gator BTW restaurant in Northwest Gainesville after receiving a trespass warning. However, this incident wasn’t charged as a sworn complaint until a week later. Prosecutors let the case go shortly after and Strain was not arrested for this incident.
The sworn complaint alleged that Strain caused a disturbance in the business by knocking over a chair and raising his middle finger, causing customers to confront him, getting him to leave. Police observed Strain on the property on surveillance footage.
Incident 5:
Ten days after his previous case was dropped, Strain was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
According to the arrest report, the battery count stemmed from Strain slapping the victim, and the assault count was alleged to have stemmed from another incident a few hours later where he threatened to slap her.
Prosecutors dropped the count of assault, but Strain was convicted of battery.
Due to committing new criminal acts, Strain was sentenced to two years in prison with time served credit for violating his probation on December 2, 2025. His sentence for battery is running alongside his prison sentence. The probation violation undid his withheld adjudication for resisting and turned it into a conviction.
Strain's probation violation affidavit report shows that he previously worked at Gator BTW from November 2024 until April 2025. The form also shows that a mental health professional recommended Strain take a four hour substance abuse course but he had not completed one.
Court records show Strain previously tested positive for cannabis usage while on probation but the Court considered it a technical violation and he was permitted to continue his probation as normal as it was his "first violation and he [was] in the process of getting his marijuana card."
Strain was also found in violation of his probation after the BB-gun incident but was allowed to continue.
On the most recent probation violation form, stemming from the assault/battery arrest, Probation Officer Malik Clark reported, "It is further recommended that the subject be reviewed for transfer to the Forensic Court Division. Subject has been on probation for 8 months with one technical violation for failed UA and new arrest for firing a BB gun at random citizen's vehicle for having an American flag decal... He has 3 years of supervision left and this officer believes the subject should also submit to an updated mental health evaluation and follow any treatment recommendations. The subject has a substantial amount of restitution owed in this case, placing the subject on community control would allow the victims in his cases an opportunity to receive their restitution."
Based on the ACSO Jail Inmate Lookup, Strain is in the Alachua County Jail awaiting transportation to a Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) facility. Strain does not currently appear in the FDC Offender Search.
