Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Roberto Santiago, 59, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly pulling a knife on another man at the Rosa Parks Transfer Station (700 SE 3rd St.) and threatening to cut him.
At about 11:45 a.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the bus transfer station, where the victim reportedly said Santiago asked him if he wanted a drink, and when he said no, Santiago pulled a knife, swung it around, and said he would cut him. The victim said he was afraid Santiago would hurt him.
A witness reportedly corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.
The officer reported that Santiago had an open folding knife in his back pocket and that Santiago originally said the victim tried to sell him drugs, so he pulled his knife out. Post Miranda, Santiago reportedly said he did not pull a knife on the victim.
Santiago has local charges going back to 2004, with two DUI convictions and two convictions for driving without a valid license. In 2019, he was sentenced to one year of probation for DUI and driving without a valid license; he eventually served 150 days in jail in 2021 after multiple probation violations. His bail has been set at $10,000 on the new charges.