Man on probation arrested for threatening woman and child with a knife and slapping a second woman

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jeramiah Markease Dudley, 19, was arrested last night after allegedly threatening to kill a woman while she was standing close to a child; a second woman reportedly told the responding officer that Dudley slapped her two weeks ago.

At about 10 p.m. on April 20, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Carver Gardens Apartments (1101 SE 15th St.), where the first victim said she had argued with Dudley because Dudley and the second victim had left a child alone in the home after they had agreed to watch the child while the first victim was gone. The officer described the child as a “young infant.”

The first victim said she and Dudley got into a heated argument, and Dudley went into the kitchen, picked up a knife, and walked toward her and the child, yelling, “I’ll kill you.” The first victim said she was in fear for her life and in shock that Dudley would do this in front of the child, and she called 911.

The first victim told the officer that after Dudley put the knife down, she took the knife into her bedroom and hid it under a mattress; she reportedly turned the weapon over to the officer.

The second victim reportedly said that the first victim and Dudley started arguing as soon as the first victim got home, but she did not have her glasses on and did not have a clear line of sight to Dudley, so she did not see a knife, but she said she heard the first victim yelling that Dudley had a knife, so she put her glasses on; she said Dudley told he would “tear all this sh** up” if she called the police.

Post Miranda, Dudley reportedly admitted to arguing with the first victim but said it was never his responsibility to watch the child; he admitted going into the kitchen and picking up a knife because the victim was “antagonizing” him, but he said he never approached her with the knife and only said he would “f*** her up” to scare her. He reportedly said he was “fake crashing out, waving his arms around” to get her to back up. He said he never meant to harm her, but he was frustrated and just wanted her to “shut the f*** up” because he had a headache and had been dealing with “her mouth and the child” all day.

Dudley reportedly insisted that the officer watch videos he’d recorded during the incident to prove his innocence, but the officer reported that in one of the videos, Dudley admitted to picking up the knife.

While officers were at the apartment, the second victim told an officer that Dudley slapped her two weeks ago, during an argument; she said the slap left a red mark on her face, and she reportedly showed the officer pictures that showed a “slight redness” on her face. She said she hadn’t reported the incident at the time because she was afraid of Dudley but decided to report it because officers were already at the apartment.

Post Miranda, Dudley reportedly said, “I just want to keep it real with you” and then admitted that he had slapped the second victim with an open hand a few weeks ago.

Dudley has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated child abuse, and domestic battery. His full criminal history is unavailable, but he was convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana in March 2025 in Lee County. He served a 16-month prison sentence and was released in October 2025 to begin four years of probation. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $100,000 on the aggravated assault and child abuse charges, and she set bail at $5,000 on the domestic battery charge.

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