Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Early this morning, 65-year-old Richard Vinnie Keller found himself under arrest for trespassing and subsequently facing additional charges after allegedly threatening a deputy’s life when she took his cigarettes during the arrest process.
The incident unfolded around 2:30 a.m. on May 4, when an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a call at the Circle K located at 7501 W. Newberry Road. The convenience store had requested law enforcement assistance to remove Keller, who had previously been banned from the premises on May 3 for trespassing.
While being transported to jail, Keller allegedly expressed his anger over the confiscation of his cigarettes by threatening the deputy’s life. This resulted in charges of both trespassing after a warning and making threats against a law enforcement officer.
- “I’ll kill you and put a pack [of cigarettes] on your grave.”
- “I’ll blow [your heart] out of your chest.”
- “When I get out of prison, we’re gonna talk about the [expletive] cigarettes. We’re gonna talk about it for 30 minutes, then I’m gonna put a [expletive] pistol… blow your brains out.”
- “What are you looking for — my pistol? If I had one, I would shoot you in the head.”
Keller’s criminal history includes 12 non-violent felony convictions and three non-violent misdemeanor convictions. His most recent run-in with the law led to a 60-day sentence for shoplifting, from which he was released on April 23. Judge Meshon Rawls has set his bail at $27,500, accompanied by a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and mandated the use of a GPS monitor.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
