Panhandler arrested for ripping windshield wipers off vehicle and throwing one at woman

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Thomas Francis Brown Jr., 58, was arrested yesterday after allegedly asking a man for money and then threatening to kill him and his family before breaking off two windshield wipers and throwing one of them at a woman in the vehicle.

At about 6:20 p.m. on August 24, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the intersection of NE Waldo Road and E. University Avenue, where the male victim pointed to Brown in the median and said he had been stopped at the intersection when Brown asked him for money; the victim said his vehicle does not have working air conditioning, so he leaves the windows down.

The victim said he and the female victim told Brown they had no money for him and they wanted him to leave them alone, but Brown kept asking for money and became more aggressive when they told him to go away. The victim said Brown began yelling that he would kill and assault them and their child, who was in the back seat.

The male victim said that when Brown started yelling at them, the female victim threw her water bottle in his direction, and it landed on the ground, making Brown more upset. The two victims told the officer that Brown ran to the front of their vehicle and broke a windshield wiper off.

The male victim said he got out of the vehicle and started chasing Brown, and while they were running, Brown grabbed the rear windshield wiper and tore it off, too. The victims said Brown threw one of the windshield wipers back inside the vehicle, hitting the female victim in the back of the head.

After throwing the wiper, Brown ran across the street, and the male victim drove to the parking lot of a nearby business to call law enforcement. When an officer arrived, both victims pointed to Brown, who was still panhandling in the median.

The officer spoke with Brown, who reportedly said he was begging for money, the male victim told him to leave them alone, and he did. He said the female victim threw a water bottle at him for no reason, and then the male victim opened the front door aggressively and hit Brown on the inside of his right knee. Brown said he tried to run away when the male victim got out of the vehicle for no reason and started chasing him. Brown said he grabbed the windshield wiper for balance as he ran around the vehicle to get away from the male victim and threw the windshield wiper back into the vehicle to give it back to the victims.

The officer noted that Brown’s bruise was “not in a spot that the passenger side door would strike if opened in the direction it opened.”

Brown has been charged with simple battery and property damage under $200. He has two felony convictions (non-violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (one violent). He was arrested in Alachua County on June 24 for trespassing and told Court Services at that time that he had been in the area for about two weeks; he was adjudicated guilty the next day and fined $326, but he has not paid the fine. Today, he told Court Services he has been in the area for a year. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $5,000.

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.