Man arrested for refusing to leave hotel and threatening to kill police officer

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christopher Van Willis, 44, was arrested yesterday for allegedly refusing to leave a hotel after causing a disturbance, resisting an officer, and threatening to kill the officer.

At about 7 p.m. on August 9, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Drury Inn & Suites (4000 SW 40th Boulevard), where hotel staff said Willis, who was staying at the hotel, had been walking around the lobby, acting aggressively, speaking loudly, and making hostile statements toward other guests.

The officer found Willis on the sixth floor, where he was reportedly trying to enter a room that was not assigned to him. The hotel manager reportedly said Willis had been formally trespassed from the property, so the officer told Willis to return to his room, collect his belongings, and leave the property.

Willis allegedly refused to leave the hotel, and when the officer said he would be arrested if he continued to refuse, he reportedly said, “I’m going to resist.”

Willis allegedly resisted being placed in handcuffs and said again, “I’m going to resist.” After he was placed in a patrol vehicle, he allegedly said to the officer, “I’ll find all what you love, and I will destroy it, kill it. I’ll find you, and I will murder you.” Willis reportedly requested the officer’s name and badge number repeatedly, and the information was provided to him by both the officer and a sergeant.

At the jail, staff reportedly advised that Willis appeared to be intoxicated, so he had to be taken to an emergency room for evaluation; at the emergency room, Willis was reportedly verbally abusive toward staff and allegedly again told the officer, “I will take your life.”

Willis has been charged with threatening to kill a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence, and refusing to leave a hotel upon request. He has an unspecified criminal history in another county and in another state in 2020. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $160,000 and ordered a mental health evaluation.

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.