A dangerous hostage situation concluded last night, July 2, 2025, with an officer-involved shooting in the parking lot of Bonefish Grill in Butler Plaza (Gainesville, FL). Tyrese Da’Jon Jones, 26, is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly holding a coworker hostage for several hours.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Combined Communications Center received a call at approximately 6:57 p.m. from a woman reporting she had been held captive by a known acquaintance, later identified as Jones.
The victim stated that she and Jones were part of a group of coworkers from Firehouse Subs who had gone on a work outing to Blue Springs. As the group returned to Gainesville around 2:40 p.m., occupants of a second vehicle flagged down the victim. When she pulled over, Jones allegedly approached her vehicle, instructed one of her passengers to switch cars, claiming the other occupants in his vehicle were acting strangely. As the switch occurred, another vehicle pulled over across the road. At that moment, Jones reportedly produced a handgun, pointed it toward the other vehicle, and ordered the victim to drive.
Throughout the drive, Jones allegedly made erratic and threatening statements, including claims that people were after him, and threats to kill the victim and then himself. A third individual in the vehicle was later dropped off at an apartment complex in Gainesville and confirmed that Jones appeared paranoid and claimed to have ingested MDMA…