Man on probation charged with aggravated assault and stalking after allegedly threatening woman he met on dating site

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Daniel Miranda, 30, was arrested early this morning and charged with aggravated assault and aggravated stalking after allegedly threatening a woman he met on a dating site. He is currently on probation in two other cases.

At about 3:00 a.m., Miranda was allegedly seen crouching behind a vehicle with a direct sight line to the back porch of the victims’ residence; the victims reportedly told a Gainesville Police Department officer that Miranda pointed a handgun at one of them when he was confronted in the parking lot. After Miranda left, he allegedly sent threatening text messages to one of the victims, saying he would return with more people around 4:00 a.m. to harm her and the other victim.

One of the victims reported that she had met Miranda on a dating site and had gone on one date with him but that he came to her house several days later and started cleaning multiple guns in her living room, at which point she asked him to leave and never return.

Miranda was arrested in May 2021 for stealing tires from a business and drug possession; he agreed to drug court supervision but failed to attend required meetings and check-ins in the first 2 weeks. He was admitted to a drug treatment facility but left within 2 weeks and was arrested again. He entered into a pre-trial intervention agreement on September 30, 2021, but the agreement was revoked because he committed a new offense in March of 2022. He entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charges in April of 2022 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation with adjudication of guilt withheld.

Miranda was separately sentenced to 12 months of probation in July of 2022 for stealing a hand truck from a delivery truck in November of 2021. Adjudication of guilt was also withheld in that case.

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.