Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Robert Morgenstern, 33, was arrested last night for allegedly threatening a staff member at GRACE Marketplace because there were no beds.

At about 7:32 p.m. on July 25, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to GRACE Marketplace (3055 NE 28th Drive), where a GRACE employee said that he was trying to explain to Morgenstern that there were no beds available when Morgenstern spat on him. He said that as Morgenstern left the dorm area, he turned and pointed a silver metal object at him that looked like a firearm. The victim said he was in fear for his life because he thought Morgenstern was about to shoot him.

The officer reported that surveillance video showed Morgenstern spitting on the victim and the victim wiping the spit from his face. The officer also noted that Morgenstern had been trespassed indefinitely from GRACE in 2023.

Responding officers reported that when they located Morgenstern, he had a silver metal object in his waistband, carrying it like it was a firearm.

Post Miranda, Morgenstern reportedly said he has been beaten and stabbed at GRACE because he did not yet have a bed in the dorm; he added that he can’t trespass at GRACE because he owns it. He said he carries the metal pipe for protection.

Morgenstern has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple battery, and trespass after warning. He has three felony convictions (one violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2022 after serving a four-year sentence for charges out of Lee County. He was arrested in April 2023 for trespassing at GRACE Marketplace, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and was committed to a state mental hospital in July 2023; he was returned to the Alachua County Jail in September 2024, entered a plea of nolo contendere to possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, with credit for 364 days served, in January 2025.

Judge Donna Keim set bail at $20,000.

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.