Gainesville man found guilty for violent crimes against elderly, to serve 60 years

A Gainesville man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison following a guilty verdict involving several violent crimes against a victim over 65 years old. 

Arealeus Morris, 39, was arrested back in 2020 for allegedly robbing and severely beating a 66-year-old man at Pine Ridge Apartments in Northwest Gainesville.

Although Morris admitted to police a confrontation with the victim and “attempting to take drugs from the victim while he was unconscious,” according to a Gainesville police press release, he ultimately pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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A three-day jury trial concluded on Wednesday where Morris was found guilty of two counts of robbery with a weapon and aggravated battery on a person 65 years of age or older, according to Alachua County Clerk of Court records.

Circuit Court Judge James Colaw sentenced him to 30 years for each count, which will be served consecutively, totaling 60 years in state prison.

Morris received credit for a little over two years of time served on the robbery with a weapon charge.

Previously a convicted felon, Morris spent four years in prison after an armed robbery and aggravated battery conviction in 1999, and another 15 years following that for a burglary and grand theft conviction in 2005.

He had only been out of prison less than two months before committing the crimes that have now resulted in his most recent conviction.