Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jason Joel McKnight, 51, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated domestic battery after allegedly attacking his sister and trying to gouge out her eyes.

At about 1:45 p.m. on December 2, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a home off NE 39th Avenue, where the victim reportedly said she had gone to McKnight’s residence because he had an upcoming doctor’s appointment and wasn’t answering his phone. She said she went inside the house, and when she came back outside, he attacked her without provocation, pinning her to the ground and pushing his fingers and thumbs into her eyes while saying, “What are you doing?” over and over.

The victim told the deputy that she believed McKnight was going to gouge out her eyes or possibly kill her; she said she bit him in self-defense, and he let go and went back into the house.

The deputy reported that the victim’s eyes were bloodshot and bleeding, and she had a scratch on one eyelid. McKnight was bleeding from a finger where he had been bitten.

McKnight has been charged with aggravated domestic battery causing bodily harm. He has one felony conviction (non-violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (one violent). Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered a mental health evaluation and ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

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.