GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Steven Meric Gunkle, 36, was arrested Saturday night after police say he displayed a large knife during a dispute with a fast food worker in a Gainesville drive-through. Gunkle had been released from prison on September 4 after serving a five-year sentence tied to a similar incident in Citrus County.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, officers were called at about 9:12 p.m. on September 6 to Gyros and Grill at 826 W. University Avenue. An employee told police the confrontation began when he asked Gunkle to move out of the drive-through. During the exchange, the employee said Gunkle pulled out a hunting-style knife with an eight-inch blade, kept in a sheath, and held it up. The worker told officers he feared for his life because he was standing only a few feet away when he saw the knife.
Police said officers found Gunkle about a block from the restaurant. After being read his Miranda rights, Gunkle reportedly acknowledged that he and the employee had argued but denied ever touching his knife. When an officer told him the incident had been captured on video, Gunkle allegedly said he did not want to answer any further questions.
Gunkle also reportedly made a spontaneous statement to officers, saying he had just been released from prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
ALSO READ: Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence on BritBox: Meet TV’s Next Great Cozy Mystery Couple
An officer later reported that surveillance footage showed the employee walking toward Gunkle before Gunkle reached into his waistband and pulled out a knife.
Gunkle, whose address is listed as Bushnell, Florida, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His full criminal history is unavailable because those documents are not posted on holidays, but he was released from prison on September 4 after serving a five-year sentence. Documents from Citrus County state that Gunkle was arrested on August 26, 2021, for threatening a Boost Mobile employee in Inverness while holding two knives; he also stabbed the front window of the business while saying he was going to kill the employee because Boost Mobile had hacked his cell phone.
Judge Sheree Lancaster set bail at $75,000 on the new charge.