Detective work results in arrest of man who allegedly damaged property at gas station

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kenneth Joseph Hall, 55, was arrested yesterday morning after an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy noticed a vehicle at a motel that had reportedly been involved in an incident at a gas station.

The deputy was at the Motel 6 at 7413 W. Newberry Road at 7:25 a.m. yesterday for an unrelated call when he noticed a vehicle in the parking lot that had been identified as the suspect vehicle in an incident that caused damage to a BP station on SW Archer Road on April 24. The deputy noted that the vehicle is distinctive and that he could see the same blue cooler in the bed of the truck that was shown in the surveillance video of the incident. The incident report stated that the suspect was the sole occupant of the vehicle and that he entered the vehicle after stealing cigarettes and caused over $1,000 in damage to the business.

A list of occupants of the motel rooms was obtained from the motel staff, and the deputy looked at the names of the rooms nearest the vehicle. Hall was on the list, and when the deputy pulled up Hall’s photo from law enforcement databases, he reported that the photo was nearly identical to the photo from the surveillance footage.

Deputies gave announcements outside Hall’s room that he should come out, and Hall came out after reportedly yelling at them for several minutes. The deputy reported that he could smell marijuana and asked Hall if he had any more on him, but Hall reportedly said he had “flushed it all.” A probable cause search of his person reportedly produced 3.8 grams of “molly.” The deputy reported that shoes found in the room matched the shoes shown in the video.

Post Miranda, Hall reportedly denied any involvement in the theft or property damage at the BP station but later spontaneously said he had rented the vehicle and had property in it.

Hall’s criminal record dates back to 1987, and he has at least 30 felony convictions and numerous misdemeanor convictions. He has served seven state prison sentences, with his last release in December 2021 after serving a 15-year sentence on Alachua County charges.

Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.