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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gainesville Police arrested a local woman Sunday afternoon after she reportedly spit on and threw a jar at a stranger inside a Publix.

Just after 4 p.m., Milagros Beaton Betancourt, 52, was shopping in the Publix, at 3930 SW Archer Road, when she began to argue with shopper Heather Jimenez, according to a police report.

Betancourt grabbed Jimenez’s arm, spit on her and tried to throw a glass jar at her. When Jimenez blocked the glass jar with her arm and it shattered on the ground, Betancourt ran away from the store, according to the report.

When police found Betancourt at 3700 Archer Road, she told them she didn’t speak English. 

She waved her arms and seemed agitated, according to the report. Authorities asked Betancourt to walk to a police car and move away from the lane, but she resisted, according to the report. 

Betancourt eventually had to be handcuffed on the ground, according to the report. Police arrested Betancourt on charges of aggravated assault, simple battery and resisting arrest.

Officers took Betancourt to the Alachua County Jail. She was released on her own recognizance just before noon Monday.

[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/17/2015 under the headline “Police: Woman spat, threw jar"]

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