Man arrested after threatening Target employees with lighter that looked like a knife

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – David Martin Odehn, 29, was arrested yesterday after allegedly threatening Target employees with an object they believed was a knife.

At about 10:30 a.m., Odehn reportedly went into Target, looking for some of his belongings, and when he was told his belongings were not there, he reportedly demanded that store employees give him water. He was reportedly asked to leave several times by at least two employees.

The Target employees told the officer that when they said he could not have a free cup of water, Odehn pulled a knife from his pocket and threatened to cut them. One employee said he was “very aggressive” and reached across the counter with a jabbing motion; he allegedly went to the side of the counter, opened an employee-only door, and tried to go behind the counter to get himself a cup of water. The employee said Odehn was jabbing at her with the knife when he came into the employee-only area. She said she was afraid she would be stabbed and tried to get away from him; when he saw that she was calling 911, he left.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer made contact with Odehn on the sidewalk near Target and reported that he was initially cooperative and said he had been looking for his bags inside Target but later found them; when he couldn’t find them in Target, he said, he asked for a glass of water and got upset when they wouldn’t give him a free drink. He reportedly said he took his lighter out, “brandished it like a knife,” and told the employees he would cut them.

The officer reported that Odehn was holding a yellow vape pen in one hand and an orange lighter in his other hand.

When backup officers arrived, they searched Odehn for weapons, and he allegedly tried to pull away, screaming that he wasn’t going to jail and that they should just kill him.

In the back of the patrol vehicle, Odehn allegedly screamed, banged his head on the divider between the front and back seat, and lay down on his back, kicking the back door. Officers reportedly applied a rip hobble to keep him from kicking.

Odehn has been charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and resisting an officer without violence. He has no local criminal history but was previously arrested in Clay County; he is described as homeless on the arrest report. Judge Craig DeThomasis set bail at $3,500.

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.