A Gainesville man was arrested Thursday night on charges of attempting to stab his aunt and uncle when they refused to give him extra cash.
According to an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, John Samuel, 49, became violent because his aunt, Violet Brown, refused to give him more than $25. Samuel told Brown he was using cocaine, and Brown said she worried her nephew would use the extra money for drugs, according to the report.
Around 11:45 p.m., Samuel grabbed his aunt’s purse and tried to run from the house, which is located in the 600 block of NE 16th Terrace. The two struggled over the the purse.
Samuel reached for a butter knife — which his aunt and uncle used to lock the back door latch — and began to swing it above his head in a stabbing motion, according to the report. Samuel’s uncle, Samuel Henry Brown, knocked the knife from his hand, and all three resumed wrestling over the purse.
When officers arrived, John Samuel resisted arrest and reached for an officer’s gun holster before he was handcuffed. According to the report, John Samuel candidly told a transport officer that he used crack and had a pipe for smoking it on him. Later, at the Alachua County Jail, staff found a glass pipe tucked in his sock. He also said he was trying to get ahold of the officer’s gun so he could shoot someone.
John Samuel was charged with first-degree robbery with a weapon, and third-degree charges of aggravated assault, resisting an officer with violence and smuggling contraband. He was booked into the Alachua County Jail on Friday and remained as of press time with a bond of $250,000.
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
