Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 58-year-old man named Thomas Francis Brown Jr. was taken into custody yesterday after he reportedly asked another man for money and later threatened to harm him and his family. In the same incident, Brown allegedly damaged two windshield wipers and threw one at a woman inside the car.

Around 6:20 p.m. on August 24, a police officer from the Gainesville Police Department arrived at the corner of NE Waldo Road and E. University Avenue. The male victim told the officer that Brown had approached him at the intersection and requested money. Since the victim’s car’s air conditioning was not functional, he had the windows down.

According to the victim, both he and the woman accompanying him informed Brown that they had no money to give and asked him to leave. However, Brown persisted and grew more confrontational when they urged him to go away. He began shouting that he intended to harm them and their child, who was situated in the back seat.

As Brown raised his voice, the female victim in the vehicle threw her water bottle towards him, but it missed and landed on the ground, exacerbating the situation. The victims recounted to the officer that Brown then rushed to the front of their car and snapped off one of the windshield wipers.

The male victim stated he exited the car to chase Brown, who then pulled off the rear windshield wiper during the pursuit. The victims reported that Brown hurled one of the wipers back into the car, striking the woman in the head.

Following this, Brown darted across the street, and the male victim parked in a nearby business lot to contact the authorities. When the officer arrived on the scene, both victims identified Brown, who was still asking for money in the median.

The officer spoke with Brown, who reportedly said he was begging for money, the male victim told him to leave them alone, and he did. He said the female victim threw a water bottle at him for no reason, and then the male victim opened the front door aggressively and hit Brown on the inside of his right knee. Brown said he tried to run away when the male victim got out of the vehicle for no reason and started chasing him. Brown said he grabbed the windshield wiper for balance as he ran around the vehicle to get away from the male victim and threw the windshield wiper back into the vehicle to give it back to the victims.

The officer noted that Brown’s bruise was “not in a spot that the passenger side door would strike if opened in the direction it opened.”

Brown has been charged with simple battery and property damage under $200. He has two felony convictions (non-violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (one violent). He was arrested in Alachua County on June 24 for trespassing and told Court Services at that time that he had been in the area for about two weeks; he was adjudicated guilty the next day and fined $326, but he has not paid the fine. Today, he told Court Services he has been in the area for a year. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $5,000.

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.