Man in pre-trial intervention program arrested for stalking woman

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Deondre Jacquez Rawlings, 23, was arrested yesterday and charged with stalking a woman at the Family Dollar on NE 23rd Avenue.

At about 8:20 a.m. on March 7, the victim was working for a separate company and stocking shelves at the Family Dollar store when Rawlings allegedly approached her with his hand in his jacket pocket. She said he asked her to “step outside right quick” and that she saw the print of a handgun on his jacket. She said she verbally agreed and started to follow him toward the front door but then ran to a rear storage room, in fear for her life.

She said that when she looked out the back door of the business, she saw Rawlings sitting in a car, as if he were waiting for her. She briefly went back into the store, then ran to a nearby car dealership when she no longer saw the car. She said she checked Rawlings’ Facebook account and found a Facebook Live in which Rawlings showed a picture of her inside the store and a text message saying she was still there.

The victim told the responding Gainesville Police Department Officer that she only knew Rawlings through mutual friends and social media and that she hadn’t communicated with him in about a year. She said Rawlings said a year ago that he would slap her when he saw her. She said she believed Rawlings intended to pistol whip or shoot her if she left the store with him.

The officer reported that Rawlings posted a Facebook Live a few hours after the incident; in the video, he reportedly posted the same picture of the victim in the store, a text message asking if she was still there, and a response from an unknown person that said, “she told, they watching the cameras.”

The officer reviewed surveillance video and reported that Rawlings entered and left the store multiple times between 8:16 a.m. and 8:21 a.m. The video reportedly showed the victim following Rawlings toward the front of the store, and when he realized she had run for the back of the store, he could be seen searching the store for her. The officer also reported that Rawlings could be seen talking to a store employee who was probably the person who took the picture of the victim and told Rawlings she was there.

The officer reported that Rawlings was clearly holding an unknown object in his front hoodie pocket and that he was clearly searching for the victim and had no intention of purchasing anything from the store.

Rawlings was previously arrested in September 2023 and charged with drug possession, marijuana possession, and driving without a valid license following a traffic stop. He filed a sworn statement admitting to the charges on January 25, 2024, and was entered into a pre-trial diversion program that requires him to live without violating the law and possess no firearms for 18 months, among other conditions.

Rawlings was arrested on a warrant signed by Judge James Colaw; the warrant specifies that he be held without bond due to the dangerous nature of the crime.

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.