Gainesville man arrested for threatening people with a sword in Kenwood neighborhood

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Antonio Tellez-Duryea White, 29, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer without violence after multiple people called 911 to report a man with a sword in the Kenwood neighborhood.

At about 8:02 a.m. Friday morning, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to the intersection of SW 42nd Avenue and SW 82nd Terrace after multiple calls were received about a man armed with a sword who was disturbing residents in the area.

One victim said she was walking in the neighborhood when she heard “clanging noises” and saw White standing behind her with a “knife” that was about two feet long. She said White waved the “knife” at her from about six feet away and she ran home, in fear for her life.

A second victim said White jumped in front of his car while he was driving northbound on SW 82nd Terrace. He said White pointed a sword at him from in front of his car, then advanced toward him in an aggressive manner. The victim said White was screaming at him and walked up to the driver’s side door with his sword in his hand. The victim said his window was up, but he was in fear for his life and quickly backed the vehicle away from White.

The deputy reported that when he made contact with White, White was holding what appeared to be a medieval sword. At the time, White was reportedly walking toward two people who were standing nearby.

The deputy reportedly ordered White to get on the ground and then held him at gunpoint until he dropped the sword; however, White allegedly fled on foot after dropping the sword. White allegedly barricaded himself in his family’s home nearby; deputies issued commands over their PA system for him to come out, but they reportedly had to enter the home to apprehend him.

The sword was collected where White dropped it; the blade was about 22 inches long, and the total length was about 29 inches. The deputy reported that the sword had a “legitimate metal blade, which could have likely inflicted injury or death if utilized as a weapon.”

White has convictions for DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia from 2016. He was charged with possession of cocaine in 2019, but the charge was dropped. He was arrested in 2022 for aggravated battery on a person over 65, but the charges in that case were later dropped. Judge Craig DeThomasis set bail at $10,500.

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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