Editor's note: Fuentes' charges were dismissed on April 5, according to Alachua County Court records.
For one UF student, an argument among roommates ended in a stream of pepper spray and police being called.
After a dispute Friday, Marvis Alixa Cruz Fuentes, a 24-year-old psychology and philosophy senior, ran at her roommates wielding a mace cannister, according to an arrest report.
Inside their home on Northwest 11th Street, Fuentes sprayed them in their faces and necks, an attack she later called self-defense.
“I thought they were going to try to jump me,” she said. “Out of self-defense, I pepper-sprayed them. I ran back to my room and called police.”
One of the roommates recorded Fuentes yelling, according to the report. The video lost focus but police said the sounds of her roommates screaming could be heard at the end of the video.
Living in the home is toxic, Fuentes said.
On multiple occasions, her roommates have called her names, yelled and been physically aggressive with her, she
said.
Police arrested Fuentes on a charge of battery.
Authorities took her to the Alachua County Jail, where she was released on her own recognizance Saturday.
She said she is considering pressing charges against a roommate who pushed her the same morning, which caused her to drop a glass plate and cut her foot.
“I wish I hadn’t gone home that day,” she said.
