Gainesville man arrested after allegedly threatening woman with knife, cutting himself, then fleeing from hospital

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nicholas Tyre Brown, 23, was arrested early this morning on a warrant issued after a June incident in which he allegedly threatened a woman with a knife, then cut himself, ran out of the apartment, threw the knife in a swimming pool, was arrested, and fled the hospital while being treated for the cut.

The incident took place on June 6, 2022, at West 20 Apartments on SW 20th Avenue. The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that she and Brown were in the same apartment when he went to the kitchen and came back with a kitchen knife. She reportedly said that he approached her with the knife and said he was going to kill her, then grabbed her and would not let her go.

A third person tried to pull Brown off the victim, and during the scuffle, Brown reportedly grabbed the blade of the knife and sustained a deep cut on his palm. He then reportedly fled the apartment. He was the only one who sustained any bloody injuries.

Officers found a blood trail from the apartment to the pool, where a kitchen knife was reportedly found in the pool; a shoe with fresh blood drops was also found next to the pool, and the victim and witness reported seeing Brown throw the knife in the pool. Officers reportedly located Brown near the front of the complex and took him to a hospital for his injuries; he was reportedly not wearing shoes when they located him.

At the hospital, post Miranda, Brown reportedly said he was attacked by the victim and the witness and that he ran out the door and somehow “gashed” his hand in the process. He reportedly denied ever having a knife and said he had no idea how he had gotten cut. He also reportedly denied throwing the knife in the pool and continued to insist that he had not seen a knife any time during the altercation.

While being interviewed and treated at the hospital, Brown was reportedly left unattended for a few minutes and fled the hospital. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was arrested early this morning.

Brown has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, false imprisonment, and concealing evidence. He is being held on $110,000 bail.

Brown has a juvenile history and 15 adult felony convictions, one violent. He was arrested in April of 2022 after allegedly refusing to provide identification to officers during a traffic stop; during a search of his vehicle for identification, crack cocaine was allegedly found in the center console. He had an outstanding warrant at the time of the traffic stop and entered a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of driving without a valid license on May 19 in exchange for a sentence of $358 in court costs and associated fees. The April charges of driving without a valid license, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting arrest without violence were dropped in May. The same day the charges were dropped, a sworn complaint was filed by a victim who said Brown had hit him. That charge was also dropped.

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.