Man with 20 convictions arrested downtown for threatening multiple people while holding a knife

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Johnny Bernard Hall, 40, was arrested Sunday morning for allegedly threatening two people downtown while holding a knife; he was also booked on a sworn complaint from a previous incident in which he hit the manager of a downtown business.

At 7:08 a.m. on May 31, Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers responded to a report of disorderly conduct at a donut shop in the 400 block of West University Avenue; callers said the man was acting erratically, yelling, and threatening to “kill the manager.” The arresting officer noted that he was aware of a previous incident in which Hall had allegedly pulled a knife on a customer at the same store.

As an officer approached Hall, Hall allegedly walked “aggressively” toward him “while making unintelligible statements”; Hall reportedly became increasingly combative and pulled away from the officer, who was attempting to arrest him on an active warrant.

The manager of the donut shop reportedly said Hall had approached her while she was walking to work, and he was holding something in his hand. She said he charged at her, repeatedly saying, “I’m gonna kill you.” She said she feared for her life and also believed he was angry because he had been trespassed from the property the day before.

A second victim, who had been seated outside the business, reportedly corroborated the manager’s account; he said he heard Hall say he was going to kill the manager and saw Hall take a knife wrapped in a napkin from his bag before he quickly walked up behind the manager. The second victim said that when he tried to intervene, Hall lunged at him with the knife, causing him to fear for his life.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a glass pipe that would typically be used to ingest illegal narcotics.

Hall was also booked on a warrant from an April incident in which he was reportedly verbally aggressive to pedestrians walking past a coffee shop in the 600 block of West University Avenue. Hall was also reportedly “speaking aggressively and using vulgar language” toward the manager of the coffee shop. A witness told a responding GPD officer that she heard Hall say, “I’m going to pop his head off” before getting in the manager’s face and putting his chin on the manager’s shoulder.

The manager reportedly said Hall had been hanging around the coffee shop that day, yelling at guests “in an aggressive and obnoxiously loud manner.” He said Hall also yelled at him and hit him in the face at one point.

The officer who responded to the April incident reported that Hall “was saying random phrases” during their entire conversation and was mumbling to himself. He said Hall was unable to confirm that he understood his Miranda rights, but Hall did not admit to battering the manager.

Hall, whose address is listed as Tampa, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer without violence, along with simple battery in the April incident. He has four felony convictions (three violent) and 16 misdemeanor convictions (four violent). Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing. Judge Miller-Jones also 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.