SUNCOAST: 12 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR SUPERMARKET SLASHING
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
State Attorney – Amira Fox
Jammacar Rodkesh Gayle has been sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of probation for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon or Great Bodily Harm, for a knife attack at a Port Charlotte supermarket. He was convicted last month following a three- day jury trial.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Nolan Deming.
The crime happened on June 9, 2023. The victim was in the store shopping near a butcher’s counter. The defendant, with his girlfriend and children, were also shopping. The defendant’s girlfriend was using foul language, and the victim suggested she stop, which started a verbal argument.
The victim then left the counter with half of her order, but then came back for the rest, and the verbal argument continued. The defendant grabbed a frying pan that was for sale and carried it back towards the victim, but one of his children took it out of his hand. He then retrieved a kitchen knife, also for sale, that had an 8-inch blade. As the victim stepped back, the defendant stepped towards her and slashed her four times with the knife, along her abdomen.
The defendant then fled to the parking lot, leaving behind his girlfriend and kids. The victim, though wounded, was able to walk outside, to try to get a photo of the defendant’s license plate.
The defendant still had the knife and continued to threaten the victim. The defendant’s girlfriend and kids then exited the store, and they all left.
The victim went back in the store and Good Samaritans tried to help stop the bleeding until emergency workers arrived. She was then med-flighted to a trauma center in Lee County for life saving treatment.
The defendant had gone to his home in North Port. He put his bloody clothes into a trash bag and then drove to New York. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office used surveillance video to identify the make and model of the suspect’s car and were able to utilize license plate readers in the area, to pinpoint his residence and learn his identity. The North Port Police Department joined the investigation. A search warrant was served at the defendant’s residence. The clothes worn during the attack and the knife were found in the trash.
A warrant was issued for his arrest and the defendant was located in Queens, New York. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals and extradited back to Southwest Florida to face charges.