Homeless man arrested for brandishing a knife while chasing a man at GRACE Marketplace

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Thomas George McCarthy III, 36, was arrested yesterday after allegedly chasing a man at GRACE Marketplace while brandishing a knife.

At about 11:54 a.m. on February 6, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to GRACE Marketplace (3055 NE 28th Drive), where the victim said McCarthy took a filet knife from a sheath that was fastened around his neck and said he was going to kill him before chasing the victim from the cafeteria to the front gate. The victim said he was in fear for his life and believed McCarthy would stab him. He said he ran until he was off the property and realized that McCarthy was no longer following him.

A witness reportedly said he saw McCarthy chasing the victim while holding an unsheathed knife, and the witness believed McCarthy would have stabbed the victim if he’d caught him. The witness said he told McCarthy to give him the knife, and McCarthy complied.

A second witness reportedly said he saw McCarthy running after the victim while holding a filet knife. That witness said he stepped in front of McCarthy to slow him down; after McCarthy handed the knife to the first witness, McCarthy tried to hand a glass pipe to the second witness, but the second witness said he refused to take the glass pipe.

The officer reported that when he arrived, he saw McCarthy riding a bicycle toward him; when he told McCarthy to get off the bike, McCarthy stopped and said he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but he allegedly refused to get off the bike. When the officer again instructed him to get off the bike, McCarthy allegedly pulled away from the officer, and the officer took him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a glass pipe with white residue.

Post Miranda, McCarthy reportedly said he was sweeping outside of the cafeteria when he heard a commotion; he said he saw the victim hit a woman with a food tray, and he walked toward them. He said he removed his filet knife from its sheath and chased the victim off the property, with the knife in his hand. When asked whether he had said anything to the victim, McCarthy said he did not remember because he was mad. He said he knew it looked bad that he had chased the victim with a knife for such a long distance.

McCarthy has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has no local criminal history but has arrests in other counties; Judge Adam Lee 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.