Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 23-year-old woman, Petergay Paige Edwards, found herself in police custody last night after being accused of vandalizing a car parked at a local bowling alley.
On the night of May 18, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to Splitz, located at 1301 NW 76th Blvd., where they observed significant damage to a vehicle. The car had several deep scratches across its panels, including one that formed a derogatory word. Additionally, there was a notable dent and missing paint, apparently resulting from a forceful hit by another car door.
The car’s owner speculated that Edwards might be responsible for the damage, given their troubled history. The victim reported seeing Edwards in an adjacent parking lot and noted that Edwards had trailed her vehicle after leaving, until she dropped off a passenger whom Edwards seemed to be seeking.
Upon locating Edwards’ car, the deputy conducted a traffic stop. When questioned by the officer, Edwards reportedly acknowledged having ongoing issues with someone.
Edwards reportedly gave consent for the deputy to look at her keys, and the deputy noted that the inside key portion of the key fob had large paint chips and dust that matched the victim’s car and were consistent with scratching a painted surface. The deputy noted that since the key was inside the key fob, it would not normally have large amounts of dust or paint on it.
Post Miranda, Edwards reportedly would not say why those substances would be on her key. She initially evaded the deputy’s questions about whether she had scratched the victim’s car, but she later admitted to scratching a vehicle at a trail a month ago. She eventually reportedly admitted to scratching the victim’s car at Splitz.
Edwards has been charged with felony property damage. She has no criminal convictions, but she is facing a sworn complaint for making a written threat to kill the same victim. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $1,000.
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.