Man facing assault, criminal mischief after Jacksonville police SWAT responds to Baymeadows plaza

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax is learning new details about the man who was arrested Monday after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team responded to a suspicious person at the Deerwood Village shopping plaza.

Jamie Ray Craft Jr., 39, is facing charges of assault with intent to commit a felony and criminal mischief of less than $1,000 or interruption of business or utilities, according to a JSO arrest report.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

An officer was flagged down around 1 p.m. about a potential robbery in progress. An unknown man came into a business “possibly armed,” the report said. Action News Jax told you Monday that witnesses told us the business was State Farm on Old Baymeadows Road.

Victims were able to get out of the business and the officer requested additional units, the report said. The man was still inside the business. Other officers arriving were able to cover all possible exits of the business.

RELATED: Businesses evacuate after SWAT call at Baymeadows shopping plaza

JSO began ordering the man to come out, the report said. Drone units from JSO were able to see him still inside the business and obtain a more accurate description of him.

Police were able to identify the man as Craft and ordered him to come out. He did so without incident, and no one else was found inside the business, the report said.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Only Action News Jax showed you video on Monday of JSO officers with guns drawn, and the man complying with commands and getting down on the ground.

After Craft was taken into custody, police learned that he entered the business and began to wander around. One of the employees asked him, “Hi, can we help you with anything?” Craft’s response was blacked out in the arrest report, but after that, the employees “became alarmed and feared for their safety,” the report said.

“As Jamie continued farther into the store with uncertain intentions, and not knowing if he was armed with any weapon(s), they took the opportunity to run out of the store,” the arrest report said.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

The business estimated it lost an estimated $1,200 in potential revenue from the incident, the report said.

Portions of the report are blacked out, but sources told Action News Jax on Monday that the man, later identified as Craft, came into the business with a butcher knife and threatened to kill people.

Craft is currently being held in the Duval County Jail on a $7,500 bond.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.