Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mitchell Kenneth Baran, 34, was booked into the Alachua County Jail yesterday after previously being arrested in Minnesota; he has been charged with making a written threat to kill and petit theft.

Baran had reportedly been staying with a relative in Gainesville for about a month, but after an argument on May 18, the relative told him to leave her house and never return. Baran reportedly went to his bedroom, locked the door, and later left through his bedroom window.

The next day, he allegedly started texting the relative, saying, “I’m going to kill you.” When the relative said he could come pick up his clothes when she was off work, he allegedly responded, “I’m going to kill you.” She reportedly responded that, given the threat, she would not feel safe with him at her house and told him he could buy whatever he needed for the week. Baran allegedly responded, “You shouldn’t feel safe, I’m going to kill you.”

Another relative attempted to intervene, telling Baran to stop making threats and advising the other relative to help him get his belongings from her residence.

Baran allegedly responded that he would “strangle the oxygen out of your windpipes.”

The relative told the responding Gainesville Police Department officer that Baran returned to her home while she was at work and took a security camera; his hand is reportedly shown on the camera as he reached up to disable it. The camera is reportedly worth $75.

After that, Baran allegedly sent more threats, including a message saying that he was in southern Georgia and on his way to Minnesota, having quit his job at Lowe’s. He allegedly added, “I will not return to Florida. I will kill [the victim] later on. Mark my words, I will kill her.”

A subsequent message allegedly listed items that had been left at the relative’s home and said, “If I do not receive any of this, I will kill [the victim] and her dogs, dogs first. I know where she lives, I know how to get in, and I can kill all three easily. And at this point, I’d be glad, too. Everyone save this message so people know.”

Baran was arrested in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, and extradited to Alachua County. He has no criminal history. Judge Jonathan Ramsey ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.