Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 62-year-old man named McKinley Derone Keith was taken into custody yesterday following an alleged incident where he stabbed a former neighbor during a dispute at the McDonald’s on Newberry Road.

Around 4:20 p.m. on September 5, an officer from the Gainesville Police Department arrived at the McDonald’s located at 6003 W. Newberry Road. They were responding to a call where the victim claimed Keith had stabbed him in the thigh and shoulder after they got into an argument.

The officer noted that the stories recounted by Keith, the victim, and witnesses had major discrepancies. Keith’s assertion that he acted in self-defense was not supported because of the “deadly force used by [Keith].” The officer also recorded that Keith had issued threats to injure the victim prior to the altercation turning physical.

The victim reportedly mentioned that he was at the restaurant with his children and noticed Keith making eye contact with his underage daughter, accompanied by suggestive gestures like licking his lips. He remembered Keith due to their previous residence in the same neighborhood, noting that Keith had faced charges in 2018 for inappropriate behavior toward a minor under 12, though those charges were eventually dismissed.

According to the victim, he intervened between Keith and his daughter, instructing Keith to leave because he felt Keith should not be near children. This confrontation led to a verbal altercation that escalated outside, where they intended to “resolve” the situation.

The victim recounted that while moving outside, Keith threatened to slit his throat. Upon looking down, he noticed Keith was armed with a knife. In an attempt to mitigate the danger, the victim pushed Keith over, but while doing so, Keith managed to stab him in the thigh.

The victim said he walked toward his car to see if Keith would follow him, but when Keith went back inside the restaurant, the victim also went back inside and saw the mother of Keith’s children arguing with his children. He said he did not remember how he was stabbed in the shoulder because he was “running on adrenaline.”

Keith reportedly said he saw the victim staring at him, and they started arguing. He said he told the victim to leave him alone, and then they both went outside, where he took a knife from his pocket in self-defense. He said the victim pushed him down, and he stabbed the victim in the thigh as he fell.

Keith said the victim kicked him in the leg before walking away; he said he assumed the victim was going to his car to get a weapon. He said he went back inside the restaurant, and when the victim came back inside, the victim grabbed someone else’s cane from the floor and walked back toward him. Keith said he retreated into a corner and stabbed the victim in the shoulder because he kept walking toward him. Keith maintained that all of his actions were in self-defense.

One witness said that after the victim’s daughter said Keith was staring at her, the victim yelled at Keith, who walked over to them. He said the victim started beating Keith up, and then Keith stabbed him. The officer noted that Keith did not have any visible injuries and never said he was beaten up.

Another witness said the two men got into an argument and then went outside, where Keith was punched in the face and then stabbed the victim. The officer noted that Keith never said he was punched in the face.

The officer reported that the victim had stab wounds on his thigh and shoulder, and Keith had scrapes on his ankle and shoulder.

Post Miranda, Keith reportedly admitted to having a knife, threatening the victim with it, and stabbing the victim twice. He reportedly said he told the victim he would slit his throat after the first time he stabbed the victim. He also reportedly told the officer he was going to kill the victim.

Keith has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He has six felony convictions (one violent) and two misdemeanor convictions. His last arrest was in 2019 for driving with a suspended license; after he violated probation, he was declared mentally incompetent to proceed in 2021, and after he had not been declared competent after a year, the probation violation charge was dropped in 2022.

Judge George Wright ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

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.