GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santoria Nichelle Smith, 21, is facing multiple charges stemming from a July confrontation in which she allegedly kicked, bit and spat on Gainesville Police Department officers.
Gainesville police were called to the Gardenia Gardens Apartments parking lot at 1721 NE 8th Avenue around 10:20 p.m. on July 22. According to officers, Smith was yelling at people, drawing a crowd, and standing in a fighting position with her hands raised. She was reportedly covered in baby oil and wearing boxing gloves.
When officers moved to detain Smith on a disorderly conduct complaint, she allegedly resisted. Police said she kneed one officer in the groin and kicked another in the legs and torso. She also allegedly tore the second officer’s lapel microphone from the uniform, leaving the officer unable to use the radio.
After officers took Smith into custody, police said she spat into the eyes and mouths of two officers. She also allegedly bit through two spit masks, rendering both protective masks unusable.
Police said Smith continued to spit at officers while being driven to an emergency room for medical clearance. The alleged incident occurred while the second officer was transporting her.
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Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, battery on a law enforcement officer, depriving an officer of communications, resisting an officer with violence and disturbing the peace. Judge Joy Danne set her bail at $100,000.
Smith does not have any criminal convictions. However, she was arrested in August 2023 after allegedly kicking a female police officer in the stomach and telling the officer she hoped she was pregnant and that the baby died. In November 2023, she was arrested again after allegedly shoving an officer who had been called to escort her from a Santa Fe College classroom. Both cases are no longer listed on the court’s website.
Smith was also arrested in October 2025 on suspicion of stealing $990 worth of merchandise from Walmart. She entered a pretrial diversion agreement, but prosecutors revoked it following her arrest this week. A sworn complaint filed in December 2025 accused her of damaging screens at a Gardenia Gardens apartment; that case was later dropped.