Homeless man arrested on warrant for threatening to stab man at GRACE Marketplace
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Andrew Carlos Ortiz, 34, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for allegedly threatening to stab another man at GRACE Marketplace; he was also charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, and resisting an officer without violence.
At about 6:10 p.m. on May 24, a Gainesville Police Department Officer responded to GRACE Marketplace, where the victim said Ortiz walked up to him in front of the dorms and punched him in the head several times in an unprovoked attack, then pushed him against the wall, preventing him from escaping. A bystander pulled Ortiz away, but the victim said Ortiz pulled out a silver pocket knife with a black handle and threatened to stab him. After the victim pleaded with Ortiz to not stab him, Ortiz and the bystander left the area. The officer reported that surveillance video corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.
At about 7:37 p.m. yesterday, a GPD Officer reportedly saw Ortiz walking in the 2600 block of NE Waldo Road; the officer reportedly knew that Ortiz had a warrant for the above incident at GRACE Marketplace. The officer reported that Ortiz was carrying a bag across his chest and clutched it before turning away and running. Ortiz allegedly took off the white bag and threw it down as he ran; he was taken into custody after a short foot chase.
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a knife that matched the description provided by the victim in the May incident.
A search of the bag reportedly produced 7.27 grams of methamphetamines, packaged for sale.
Ortiz has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, tampering with evidence, and resisting an officer without violence. He has three felony convictions (none violent); he has served one state prison sentence for charges out of Columbia County and was released in November 2023. He reportedly has active warrants out of Ohio, Indiana, and Miami-Dade County. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $210,000.
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.
Yes, you CAN judge a book by its cover — and judges in election years. 😔
Another great ambassador.
Joe you are 100% correct, I have already reached out to him.
Send him to Ohio or Indiana where he has those warrants and get him out of Alachua County!!!
Neck brace makes a nice target acquisition spot.
Send this dog back to jail for life.
Dogs are wonderful. This lowlife is pond scum. And my apologies to pond scum.
This is the kind of violent criminal filth that Jon DeCarmine and the rest of the vermin that work at GRACE Marketplace attract to our city.
GRACE Marketplace has utterly failed in its stated mission of ending or even reducing homelessness. The amount of homeless people has skyrocketed since this program began. 10 years with zero results and zero accountability.
The true mission of GRACE is to enrich DeCarmine and corrupt city commissioners with untraceable taxpayer funds.
Homeless Industrial Complex
You are absolutely correct.
Nice touch there Ortiz, the neck brace LOL.
Stop calling them “homeless “. They’re “bums”. Bottom feeders who can afford tattoos and meth. Grace Bum Haven is a farce, yet perfect for this day blue island.
Does Grace have any kind of screening process to stay there, I’m always reading about wanted criminals showing it as where they are living when they commit another crime and are arrested.
I don’t think Grace has any screening process, but they should do it. Screening like a background check probably costs too much and the city is against background checks anyways. Many transients use that as their mailing address. I wish they would separate the dangerous people from the not so dangerous at Grace to make it a safer place though.
Just close that dump GRACE down and spend the savings to FIX THE ROADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So everyone in these comments hates homeless people huh.
I dont think you get it. There are legitimate homeless people that do not commit crime. They do everything they can to improve their situation without committing crime or doing drugs. There are also homeless that choose that life because of their own reasons but they do not commit crime or do drugs. Then there are scum who choose to be homeless because they get to live in places like Grace. They get get plenty of money from stealing or defrauding the government. They then use the money to do drugs and commit more crime. That is the scum that everyone dislikes and has no tolerance for.