A Florida man has been sentenced to prison time after he allegedly stole a butcher shop knife and used it to violently attack a woman in a supermarket.
Jammacar Rodkesh Gayle brutally attacked a woman with a knife following a verbal conflict between the two in June 9, 2023. He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for the incident on Monday.
The 2023 incident occurred at Port Charlotte, at the supermarket butcher's counter. The victim approached Gayle and his girlfriend after Gayle's girlfriend began using offensive language around their small children, asking them to stop. Gayle's girlfriend then began arguing with the victim.
The victim obtained half of her order from the butcher shop and returned to obtain the rest of her order, upon which the argument between her and Gayle's girlfriend continued.
Gayle picked up a frying pan that had been for sale and began walking toward the victim with it, intending to confront her using the pan, but one of his children grabbed the pan out of his hands. Gayle then picked up a knife that was also listed for sale.
Gayle approached the victim with the 8-inch kitchen knife and slashed her abdomen four times before fleeing the market, leaving his girlfriend and children at the scene. The victim was able to pursue him and exited the butcher shop, attempting to photograph his car's license plate.
Gayle returned to intimidate the victim, still holding the knife. His girlfriend and children caught up to him and they all fled the scene, returning to their home in North Port. The victim returned to the shop where bystanders and witnesses to the incident called law enforcement.
The victim was then med-flighted to a trauma center in Lee County where she was given life-saving care.
Gayle was identified by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office through surveillance video and license plate readers. The investigation was aided by the North Port Police Department.
He was arrested by U.S. Marshals while in Queens, New York, and taken to Charlotte County to face the charges against him. He was convicted of of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
