In Gainesville, Florida, a troubling incident unfolded last night leading to the arrest of 19-year-old Jeramiah Markease Dudley. He faces allegations of threatening to harm a woman while she stood near a child. Furthermore, another woman has come forward, claiming Dudley slapped her two weeks prior to this event.
The confrontation occurred around 10 p.m. on April 20 at Carver Gardens Apartments, located at 1101 SE 15th St. A Gainesville Police Department officer arrived at the scene after a call was made by the first victim. She reported a dispute with Dudley, stemming from an incident where both Dudley and the second woman left a child unattended. This child, described as a “young infant,” was supposed to be under their care while the first woman was away.
The argument escalated, according to the first victim, with Dudley allegedly grabbing a knife from the kitchen and approaching her and the child, threatening, “I’ll kill you.” The woman, fearing for her life and shocked by Dudley’s actions in front of the child, promptly contacted the authorities.
After the tense exchange, Dudley reportedly put the knife down. Seizing the opportunity, the first victim took the knife, concealed it under a mattress in her bedroom, and later handed it over to the responding officer.
The second victim corroborated that an argument ensued upon the first woman’s return home. However, she admitted to not witnessing Dudley with the knife initially as she was not wearing her glasses and lacked a clear view. Despite this, she heard the first victim’s alarmed cries about Dudley wielding a knife. She noted that Dudley warned of causing further chaos if the police were called.
The second victim reportedly said that the first victim and Dudley started arguing as soon as the first victim got home, but she did not have her glasses on and did not have a clear line of sight to Dudley, so she did not see a knife, but she said she heard the first victim yelling that Dudley had a knife, so she put her glasses on; she said Dudley told he would “tear all this sh** up” if she called the police.
Post Miranda, Dudley reportedly admitted to arguing with the first victim but said it was never his responsibility to watch the child; he admitted going into the kitchen and picking up a knife because the victim was “antagonizing” him, but he said he never approached her with the knife and only said he would “f*** her up” to scare her. He reportedly said he was “fake crashing out, waving his arms around” to get her to back up. He said he never meant to harm her, but he was frustrated and just wanted her to “shut the f*** up” because he had a headache and had been dealing with “her mouth and the child” all day.
Dudley reportedly insisted that the officer watch videos he’d recorded during the incident to prove his innocence, but the officer reported that in one of the videos, Dudley admitted to picking up the knife.
While officers were at the apartment, the second victim told an officer that Dudley slapped her two weeks ago, during an argument; she said the slap left a red mark on her face, and she reportedly showed the officer pictures that showed a “slight redness” on her face. She said she hadn’t reported the incident at the time because she was afraid of Dudley but decided to report it because officers were already at the apartment.
Post Miranda, Dudley reportedly said, “I just want to keep it real with you” and then admitted that he had slapped the second victim with an open hand a few weeks ago.
Dudley has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated child abuse, and domestic battery. His full criminal history is unavailable, but he was convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana in March 2025 in Lee County. He served a 16-month prison sentence and was released in October 2025 to begin four years of probation. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $100,000 on the aggravated assault and child abuse charges, and she set bail at $5,000 on the domestic battery charge.
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
