Man who allegedly damaged gas pump with machete has now been charged with pulling a knife on a store employee in a separate incident

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Daniel Austin Rawles, 30, of Virginia Beach, VA, who was arrested on June 6 for damaging a gas pump with a machete and throwing rocks at the gas station owner, has now been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a store employee reported that a man pulled a knife on him on May 18.

At about 1:40 p.m. on May 18, a man approached an employee of Eastern Market (1349 NW 23rd Ave.) and punched the employee in the face without provocation. As the man walked out, he reportedly said, “You know you f**ked with my food yesterday motherf**ker.” The employee told the responding Gainesville Police Department Officer that he followed the man at a distance and verbally confronted the man as he left the store.

The victim said the man turned around when he was 10-12 feet away, took a knife from his pocket, opened the knife, pointed it toward the victim, and moved toward the victim. The victim said he quickly retreated back into the store. The man left before he could be identified.

On June 6, Rawles was arrested for property damage and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and the arresting officer reported that while he was being transported to the jail, he spontaneously said “they” were messing with his food. The officer noted that this was similar to what the suspect had said to the Eastern Market employee and subsequently showed Rawles’ picture to the Eastern Market employee in a photo line-up. The victim positively identified Rawles as the man who attacked him.

The arrest report notes that video surveillance from Winn Dixie, which is in the same shopping center as Eastern Market, showed that Rawles was driving a red Ford Mustang on May 18; Rawles was reportedly driving a red Mustang when he was arrested.

A sworn complaint has also been filed against Rawles, alleging that he can be seen on video surveillance throwing rocks and breaking a window at the Winn Dixie on June 4; he is also accused of throwing rocks at the Gate Food Post on June 5. The red Mustang is also reportedly shown on the video.

According to court documents, Rawles has been in the area for about four weeks and is unemployed. He has an unspecified out-of-state criminal history from 2013 to 2022. Judge Susan Miller-Jones added $42,500 in bail to his previous bail of $50,000.

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.

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