(Marion County, FL) Yesterday morning, 31-year-old Julio Cesar Bautista entered a no contest plea before Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky just shortly after his jury trial began. Bautista, who invoked speedy trial, was adjudicated guilty on all counts.
Bautista was convicted of Aggravated Battery causing Great Bodily Harm with a Firearm, two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Following his conviction, Judge Kissner-Kwatkosky sentenced Bautista to 13 years in the Florida Department of Corrections with a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years.
On March 9, 2025, law enforcement officers with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Amex Food Mart located off Nort West 110th Avenue in Ocala for a battery that had just occurred. Responding deputies learned from witnesses on scene that the defendant, Bautista, had just fled the scene after attacking two victims.
Law enforcement learned that while one victim was cleaning up the facility after a party, Bautista approached the victim and began getting into an argument. Bautista was then seen grabbing the victim by the neck and pushing the victim into the wall before pulling out a firearm and striking the victim over the head. The victim had a laceration above the eye and first responders observed blood in the corner of the room where the battery occurred.
During the battery, a second victim who observed Bautista attack the first victim, attempted to intervene. While attempting to break up the fight, Bautista’s firearm was knocked out of his hand onto the floor. The defendant then picked up the firearm and pointed it at both victims as they exited the building.
Bautista was later located during a traffic stop and arrested in this case.
Assistant State Attorney Janine Nixon ensured the successful prosecution of this case.
Published on 07/30/2026.