Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jackell Aaron-Rashone Harris, 18, was arrested after deputies said he damaged a vehicle on NW 98th Street. A caller also reported that the teenager may have attempted to carjack one or more motorists.
Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 9:26 a.m. October 4 to the 1300 block of NW 98th Street. Callers described a shirtless, slim Black male running in the roadway, damaging a passing vehicle and possibly trying to force at least one driver out of a car.
The alleged victim directed a deputy north, saying the suspect had fled in that direction. Deputies soon located Harris nearby. He was reportedly sweating and breathing heavily. Harris acknowledged being involved but said the vehicle had accidentally struck him in the shoulder while he was crossing the street. According to the deputy, Harris did not follow commands to keep his hands visible and was placed in handcuffs.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Harris reportedly told deputies that he and his girlfriend had been traveling to a service at Westside Baptist Church. He said she had been driving but stopped so he could walk the remainder of the way. When questioned about why they did not enter the church parking lot, Harris said they had taken a wrong turn and that his girlfriend was upset with him and refused to pull in.
Harris said he stepped into the road in front of the victim’s vehicle because he expected the driver to stop. Instead, he claimed, the vehicle struck his shoulder and spun him around.
The victim told deputies he was driving north on NW 98th Street while his wife traveled several car lengths ahead. She reportedly noticed a vehicle stopped along the roadside and a shirtless man moving back and forth in the street, seemingly attempting to stop passing traffic. After calling her husband to alert him, she was followed by the victim, who soon saw Harris move toward the front of his vehicle and was forced to stop.
The victim said Harris then approached the passenger side in an aggressive manner and struck the vehicle’s right side mirror, breaking it. Deputies said the damage was consistent with the victim’s account. The driver then attempted to leave to put space between himself and Harris, but he reported that Harris and the roadside vehicle appeared to follow him. He made a U-turn and pulled into the Westside Baptist Church parking lot, where he called 911.
While deputies investigated, individuals from Covenant Presbyterian Church reported that a man matching Harris’s description had run around the north side of their property.
When questioned about the church property, Harris reportedly admitted running there while attempting to follow the victim and confront him over the alleged collision. He also told the deputy that the victim had actually driven the other way and entered a neighborhood across the road. The deputy said Harris could not explain why he ran onto the Presbyterian church grounds.
Deputies examined Harris’s shoulder, the area he said had been struck, but found no bruises, scrapes, abrasions or other recent injuries. They did observe a bruise on his left palm, which the deputy said appeared consistent with striking a hard surface. Harris reportedly said he is left-handed.
Harris had told deputies he was on his way to a service at Westside Baptist Church, but he reportedly could not identify the service’s start time until he noticed a sign displaying the schedule.
A court document describes Harris as homeless. He faces a misdemeanor property-damage charge and was ordered by Judge Joy Danne to be released on his own recognizance. Harris has a 2024 juvenile conviction and was arrested in May after allegedly threatening to stab his mother when she woke him for school. That case was later dropped at his mother’s request after she said the incident was a misunderstanding that escalated. He is also the subject of a sworn complaint tied to a September 13 incident in which he allegedly became angry with his mother, shattered her car’s rear window and dented its trunk; he has not been booked on that allegation.
Arrest reports provide the basis for stories about criminal allegations. The charges described here come from law enforcement reports and/or court records and remain accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
