Liquor store owner and employee arrested after owner allegedly attacked man with knife and employee said nothing happened

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dharmen K. Patel, 47, and Pradipkumar (“Pradi”) Manubhai Barot, 37, were arrested yesterday for a December 15 incident in which Patel allegedly attacked a man with a knife and a bottle and Barot, who reportedly witnessed the incident, told the responding deputy that nothing happened. Patel is the owner of Dee’s Liquor Store and is on pre-trial release following an August 2024 arrest for cocaine trafficking and firearm possession.

At about 7:08 p.m. on December 15, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report of an armed disturbance at Dee’s Liquor Store (7208 W. University Avenue), where the victim reportedly said he had worked “under the table” for Patel and had come to get his pay, but Patel was immediately hostile to him and cursed at him. He said he reminded Patel that he owed him money, and Patel became angry, aggressively approached him with a knife, and took a “fighting” pose. The victim said he was afraid for his safety.

The victim said Patel physically attacked him by grabbing his jacket, pulling it, and grabbing his chain necklace, ripping it off; the deputy noted that the victim had a “loose seemingly broken chain necklace.” The victim said Patel then grabbed a bottle and tried to hit him with it; the victim said he got away and called law enforcement and added that Barot had witnessed the entire incident.

The victim provided a detailed description of the knife, and deputies reportedly found a similar knife in plain view inside the store; when they showed it to the victim, he reportedly confirmed it was the same knife.

The deputy reported that Patel denied attacking the victim, but “this was later determined to be a lie,” and Barot denied that anything happened; regarding Barot’s statements, the deputy wrote, “These too were later determined to be blatant lies.”

Deputies reportedly asked Patel if they could view the store’s surveillance video, but Patel allegedly refused, making statements such as, “I don’t trust you” and “They’re just for security.” Deputies seized the store’s video camera system, citing the belief that it contained evidence of the attack as probable cause. Judge James Colaw approved a search warrant for the contents of the video surveillance system on January 2.

A deputy reported that the video corroborated the victim’s account of the incident and “clearly showed” Patel initiating the altercation with a knife in his hand. The deputy reported that the video showed Patel repeatedly battering the victim while the victim never reciprocated and kept backing away from Patel, who can be seen putting the knife on the counter and then picking up a bottle, which he raised aggressively toward the victim.

The deputy also reported that the video showed Barot tampering with evidence when he moved the knife from the counter to a “more concealed” position behind the counter, where deputies later found it. The deputy reported that Barot never shared the location of the knife with deputies “and even blatantly lied about not witnessing the incident, despite knowing a criminal investigation was underway.”

Patel and Barot were arrested yesterday at the store. Post Miranda, Patel reportedly declined to answer any questions and Barot said he did not understand his Miranda rights.

Patel has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and property damage under $200. He has one misdemeanor conviction for reckless driving and was on pre-trial release following an arrest in August 2024 for cocaine trafficking and firearm possession. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

Barot has been charged with tampering with evidence in a criminal investigation. He has no criminal convictions but has an unspecified “federal history” in 2021. Judge Rawls set bail at $10,000.

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.