A Gainesville woman was arrested Tuesday night after police said she smashed three glass jewelry cases with an aluminum bat at the Southwest Archer Road Wal-Mart.
Shortly before 10 p.m., 28-year-old Vanna Crawford calmly walked into the store with a metal bat, according to a report. She then headed to the jewelry section and proceeded to obliterate three glass cases, causing about $4,000 in damage.
Other than giving her name to officers, Crawford — who is a registered nurse at Parklands Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at 1000 SW 16th Ave. — remained silent, a report said.
“She was Baker Acted in May of this year for a mental break, and it seems like she obviously suffered another,” Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email. He said he “can’t recall in recent memory an incident like this one.”
The Baker Act was created in 1971 and allows judges, law enforcement officers and mental health professionals to request a hold on someone for examination if they are believed to be at risk to themselves or others.
Management at the Southwest Archer Road Wal-Mart declined to comment on the incident.
Crawford was arrested on charges of criminal mischief. Her bond is set at $10,000.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/30/2014]
