A family argument escalated into violence when, during a shopping trip at Target on Archer Road, a man discharged tear gas directly into his mother’s face, as reported by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
Jedidiah Ashley Reeser, aged 27, allegedly deployed tear gas at his mother, Anita Reeser, subsequent to an altercation wherein she placed her hand on him, deputies disclosed. Jedidiah Reeser, hailing from Trenton, faced charges of domestic battery in connection with the incident.
Eyewitnesses attested that Jedidiah Reeser, accompanied by his wife, asserted that his parents, Gary Reeser and Anita Reeser, were tailing him within the store premises.
As per statements provided by Jedidiah Reeser and his wife, Krystal Reeser, the Reesers’ parents had purportedly been engaging in acts of “stalking” and “harassment” towards them. They sought assistance from a Target staff member to guide them to a phone for contacting law enforcement, per the Sheriff’s Office’s account.
Upon being escorted to the phone, Jedidiah Reeser alleged that his mother laid a hand on him, provoking him to retrieve tear gas and discharge it at her, deputies recounted.
Subsequent examination of surveillance footage revealed Gary Reeser, the father, intervening by grabbing his son subsequent to the tear gas discharge. A Target employee intervened to separate the parties involved in the altercation, deputies stated.
Following the altercation, Anita Reeser, aged 54, was transported to Shands at the University of Florida for medical attention, according to an official report.
