Homeless man arrested after witness said he was waving a gun in a fast food restaurant

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Braja Mandala Sanchez, 38, was arrested yesterday for resisting an officer after a fast food worker reported that he had been waving a gun around in the restaurant; the gun was later found to be an “airsoft or similar toy gun” with an orange tip.

At about 4:49 p.m. on June 5, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Chick-fil-A at 1340 W. University Avenue, where an employee said Sanchez had walked in and sat down at a table with several open bottles of alcohol. She said she went to ask him to leave and saw that his shirt was pulled up, exposing the butt of a handgun in his waistband. She said she was afraid Sanchez was armed, so she did not speak to him, but she reported this to her manager.

The witness said that when she returned to Sanchez’s table, he had taken the gun from his waistband and was waving it around; a short time later, he left the restaurant.

A GPD officer responded a short time later and saw Sanchez at a nearby bus stop. The officer gave instructions to Sanchez, who allegedly ignored the officer and started packing up his bottles of alcohol.

A second officer arrived and ordered Sanchez to stop, but Sanchez allegedly gathered his belongings and walked back toward the Chick-fil-A. The second officer tackled Sanchez, who allegedly resisted being placed in handcuffs.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a “black plastic airsoft or similar toy gun” with an orange tip.

The officer reported that Sanchez seemed to be mentally unwell or under the influence of a substance at the time of his arrest, and he was sedated by EMS before being transported to a local hospital. As a result, he did not provide any statements.

Sanchez has been charged with resisting an officer without violence. He has two felony convictions (one violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he served a nine-month jail sentence in 2025 for battery on a victim over 65 years old. He was arrested in April 2026 for threatening a maintenance worker while holding a hatchet, but that charge was later dropped. Judge Julie Johnson set bail at $10,000 on the new charge.

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