By Staff Reporter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On Sunday morning, authorities arrested 40-year-old Johnny Bernard Hall after he allegedly brandished a knife and threatened two individuals in a downtown area. He also faced charges from an earlier incident where he reportedly assaulted a business manager in the same vicinity.
At 7:08 a.m. on May 31, officers from the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) were dispatched to a donut shop on the 400 block of West University Avenue following reports of disorderly behavior. Witnesses claimed Hall was behaving erratically, yelling, and threatening to “kill the manager.” The responding officer noted that Hall had previously been accused of threatening a customer with a knife at this location.
As officers approached Hall, he allegedly advanced towards them in an “aggressive” manner, making incoherent remarks. When the officers attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, Hall reportedly resisted and pulled away.
The donut shop manager recounted that Hall confronted her while she was en route to work, holding an object in his hand. She said he charged at her, repeatedly threatening her life. She believed Hall’s anger stemmed from being banned from the premises the previous day.
A second witness, who was sitting outside the establishment, supported the manager’s account. He stated that he overheard Hall’s threats and saw him retrieve a knife wrapped in a napkin from his bag. When the witness attempted to intervene, Hall allegedly lunged at him with the knife, leaving the witness fearing for his safety.
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a glass pipe that would typically be used to ingest illegal narcotics.
Hall was also booked on a warrant from an April incident in which he was reportedly verbally aggressive to pedestrians walking past a coffee shop in the 600 block of West University Avenue. Hall was also reportedly “speaking aggressively and using vulgar language” toward the manager of the coffee shop. A witness told a responding GPD officer that she heard Hall say, “I’m going to pop his head off” before getting in the manager’s face and putting his chin on the manager’s shoulder.
The manager reportedly said Hall had been hanging around the coffee shop that day, yelling at guests “in an aggressive and obnoxiously loud manner.” He said Hall also yelled at him and hit him in the face at one point.
The officer who responded to the April incident reported that Hall “was saying random phrases” during their entire conversation and was mumbling to himself. He said Hall was unable to confirm that he understood his Miranda rights, but Hall did not admit to battering the manager.
Hall, whose address is listed as Tampa, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer without violence, along with simple battery in the April incident. He has four felony convictions (three violent) and 16 misdemeanor convictions (four violent). Judge Susan Miller-Jones 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. Judge Miller-Jones also ordered a mental health evaluation.
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.
