High Springs woman arrested for child neglect after store customers asked deputy to check on her

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jennifer Jean Reeder, 39, was arrested yesterday after customers at Bass Pro Shops asked a deputy to check on her, saying she had a small child with her, was having trouble walking, and appeared to be talking to herself.

At about 7:51 p.m. on December 15, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a call for service at Bass Pro Shops (2650 Bass Pro Shops Boulevard), where several staff and customers approached him to say that a woman who had a small child was having trouble walking and appeared to be talking to herself.

The deputy made contact with Reeder, and she reportedly said she had driven to the store with her child to see Santa and had taken two Klonopin pills. The deputy reported that a plastic bag, of the type that is often used to package illegal narcotics, could be seen in the center console area of her vehicle.

Reeder reportedly told the deputy that she was trying to go home with her daughter, but her vehicle wouldn’t start.

Reeder reportedly gave consent for a search of her vehicle, and the search reportedly produced 0.2 grams of methamphetamine and two unlabeled prescription bottles containing Klonopin pills, but the bag that had been in the center console was not found. The deputy noted that the bag containing the methamphetamine and the prescription bottles were easily accessible to the child.

Post Miranda, Reeder reportedly said the drugs were “ice,” and she gave the deputy two glass pipes and a plastic bag of a substance she identified as “crack”; the bag reportedly contained 1.1 grams of a substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Reeder has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, four counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her full criminal history is unavailable, but locally, she has at least 24 felony convictions for theft and fraud charges from over 10 years ago and a misdemeanor conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia from March 2025. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $42,000 on the new charges.

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.