Man arrested for threatening to stab woman at bus stop

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Charlie Jerome Bragg, 59, was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted aggravated battery and resisting an officer without violence after allegedly threatening to stab a woman at a bus stop.

At about 8:03 p.m. on November 6, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the 700 block of SE 3rd Street, where the victim reported that Bragg walked up and tapped her shoulder while she was waiting for a bus. She said that when she told him not to touch her, he began acting erratic, took out a pocketknife, and said, “Tell whoever you got to, I’ll kill you.” She said she was in fear for her life and quickly tried to get on the bus that had just arrived, but Bragg lunged at her with the knife in his hand. She said she blocked his arm with her forearm, but Bragg’s stabbing attempt pushed her onto the bus, where the driver quickly closed the doors to protect her. Bragg reportedly left the area at that point.

The officer reported that as he was driving to the bus stop, he saw Bragg walking west on SE 4th Avenue near SE 2nd Street. Bragg allegedly ran when he saw the patrol vehicle, cutting through yards and running between houses. The officer got out of his patrol car and started chasing Bragg; other officers and a K-9 team joined the pursuit, and Bragg was reportedly apprehended in the 500 block of SE 3rd Street. The officer reported that while he was handcuffing Bragg, he saw a large pocketknife (5-7 inches long) near his body.

The bus driver reportedly corroborated the victim’s account and said that while she was sitting at the bus stop, Bragg started yelling at her and brandishing a pocketknife. He said Bragg advanced on the victim as she backed away toward the bus and yelled, “I will cut you,” and she was pushed onto the bus when Bragg lunged at her with the knife. The bus driver said he closed the bus doors to keep Bragg off the bus.

A second witness also related the same events.

Post Miranda, Bragg reportedly admitted pulling out a knife but said he “wasn’t going to do anything with it.” While in the patrol car on the way to the jail, he reportedly said, “I’m sorry for what I did.” He also reportedly asked if he was going to jail because he ran from the officer, and when the officer said it was because of the incident at the bus stop, Bragg said, “The knife.”

The arrest report lists a Gainesville address for Bragg, but a court document filed today reports that he has only been in Alachua County for one day. Bragg has two felony convictions (none violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (none violent). He has six arrests on violent charges, but none of them were prosecuted for various reasons. He was found incompetent to stand trial in 2004 and 2017. 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.

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.