A 58-year-old homeless man was arrested for aggravated assault after allegedly pulling a knife on a Marion County hotel employee who asked him to leave the property.

On Sunday, June 14, Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Comfort Suites located on Brooks Street in Dunnellon in reference to a verbal disturbance. An employee reported that they had attempted to trespass a homeless man, later identified as Gary Wayne Briggs, from the hotel, according to the arrest report.

The employee stated that he found Briggs lying behind a trailer on the premises. When the employee told Briggs that he needed to leave, Briggs allegedly pulled out a “huge folding knife.”  

According to the report, Briggs allegedly began inching closer to the employee while stating, “Don’t (expletive) with me dude, don’t (expletive) with me.” Moments later, the employee turned around and ran away from Briggs before contacting law enforcement.

As the employee was on the phone with dispatchers, Briggs reportedly rode away on a mountain bicycle and yelled, “Snitches get stitches (expletive).”

While at the incident location, deputies located Briggs in a nearby field. He matched a description of the suspect provided by the employee, and he was reportedly in possession of a “large camouflage folding knife.”

The report mentioned that the knife’s blade was approximately six inches in length.

According to the report, Briggs appeared to be intoxicated. After being read his Miranda rights, Briggs allegedly admitted to being at the hotel and stated that an employee had come running up to him to tell him he was trespassing.

During the post-Miranda interview, Briggs reportedly admitted to holding a knife during the incident.

While being escorted to a patrol vehicle, Briggs spontaneously uttered, “Snitches are found in ditches with stitches,” according to the report.

Briggs was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where he remains in custody. His bond has been set at $5,000, and he is being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

A court date for Briggs has not yet been scheduled, according to jail records.