Gainesville man arrested for threatening to kill a restaurant manager and his former girlfriend

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Johnnie Lee Tindell Jr., 22, was arrested yesterday after allegedly stalking and threatening to kill a former girlfriend and a restaurant manager.

At about 4:30 p.m. on April 23, a Gainesville Police Department officer met with the victim at her workplace, a restaurant, after she reported that Tindell had threatened to kill her. The victim said she had previously dated Tindell, but they were no longer together; however, she said he got upset after seeing pictures of her with other men on her social media accounts, and he allegedly said he was going to shoot her in the face. The officer reported that Tindell called the victim over 50 times from various phone numbers; when the victim blocked a number, he called from another number.

While the officer was interviewing the victim, Tindell allegedly started calling the main phone for the victim’s workplace; he asked to speak with the manager, and the manager reportedly told him to stop making personal calls to the business. In response, Tindell allegedly threatened to come to the restaurant and kill the owner. Tindell allegedly called the business over 50 times from different numbers and told employees that he was going to come to the restaurant and “end them,” which made it impossible for the business to take phone orders.

The victim said she believed Tindell would kill her because he had a gun.

The officer reported that Tindell came to the restaurant to speak with him, and when he arrived, he was very upset and said he was going to get back at all the people who had made allegations against him. He said he was worried that he would be charged with a felony because he enjoys shooting guns and would no longer be able to own a gun if he were convicted; he reportedly added that he was going to have to “rack up felonies like his father and show everyone that he is from south Florida.”

Tindell has been charged with making a written threat to kill and two counts of aggravated stalking. He has no criminal history, and 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.

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.