An argument about an ex-boyfriend led to the arrest of a Gainesville woman accused of chasing a woman twice — once with a hammer and again with two wooden sticks.
Gainesville Police charged Celestia Vanessa Howard, 44, Sunday night with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to a GPD arrest report.
The report gave the following account:
At about 5 p.m. Sunday, Twana Robinson, 39, confronted Howard about her boyfriend.
The argument escalated when Howard went into her apartment, grabbed a hammer from the kitchen drawer and chased Robinson through the Gardenia Gardens apartment complex at 1727 NE Eighth Ave.
During the chase, Robinson fought back, knocking the hammer from Howard’s hand before Howard’s boyfriend broke up the fight.
Howard then went back into her apartment, changed her clothes and armed herself with two 2-foot wooden sticks.
She then chased Robinson out of the complex.
When police got to the scene, an officer stopped Howard and arrested her about three blocks away from the complex.
After her arrest, Howard said Robinson harassed her for more than a year.
Howard added that she “snapped” after Robinson came to her apartment and started an argument about Howard’s boyfriend, according to the report.
Robinson said Howard struck her twice with the hammer, but officers didn’t find any injuries to match her story, according to the report.
Police arrested Howard at 6:26 p.m. Sunday and booked her into Alachua County Jail at 7:11 a.m. Monday with a $15,000 bond.
Howard met bail and was released Tuesday.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
