Four arrested for prowling after allegedly pulling car door handles

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Khambrel Ja’qwez Booth, 19; Aenry Ke’ontae Dezmie Gordon, 22; Tearence Lamont McNeal Jr., 22; and Rashaune Ahmontai Pete, 21, were arrested early this morning for prowling/loitering after a report that four men were walking around the parking lot of Pickwick Park, shining flashlights into cars and pulling door handles.

A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that at about 1:50 a.m. on August 8, three men were captured on video surveillance, wearing all black, shining flashlights into vehicles, and pulling door handles at Pickwick Park (4411 SW 34th Street). One of the men was seen getting into a vehicle and getting out a short time later, and witnesses reported seeing four men fleeing the area together and jumping over a fence to leave the complex.

A few minutes later, four men wearing all black were seen walking south through The Laurels (4455 SW 34th Street), and an officer confronted them and told them to stop; Booth allegedly fled to the northeast while the other three complied with the officer.

Post Miranda, Pete reportedly said the group was dropped off at Pickwick Park by a Lyft driver and they went there to meet a group of women he did not know; he said he also did not know where they lived. Pete reportedly said the only one who would know the address would be Booth because he had the Lyft receipt. Pete reportedly said he had been out with Gordon, McNeal, and someone who matched Booth’s description, but he said they didn’t try to enter any vehicles. The officer reported that Pete was unable to dispel his suspicions that the men were in the area for some purpose other than visiting women.

Post Miranda, McNeal reportedly said they were dropped off in The Laurels but were supposed to be dropped off at Hidden Village (2725 SW 27th Avenue, about 2 miles away). When asked why they would get out of the Lyft in the wrong complex, McNeal reportedly said they were just going to walk to a woman’s house in Hidden Village. When the officer asked why they were walking south when Hidden Village was northeast of their location, McNeal reportedly had no response but later said they were actually dropped off at Pickwick Park. The officer reported that McNeal did not dispel his suspicions, based on the changes in his story and the direction of travel compared to their stated destination.

Post Miranda, Gordon reported said they had walked from their residence at Garden View (2220 SW 34th Street) to The Laurels to see some female friends in Hidden Village. When the officer said Pete and McNeal had already said they were dropped off at Pickwick Park, Gordon reportedly admitted they had arrived in a Lyft. The officer reported that Gordon did not dispel his suspicions, based on his conflicting stories about how they arrived in the area.

Booth reportedly stated spontaneously that he had been in the Laurels with three other individuals he could not name. He allegedly fled on foot, and when he was apprehended, he reportedly acknowledged that he had heard the officer but ran because he was afraid; he said they were not out there breaking into cars.

Post Miranda, Booth reportedly said he had been with three other people, headed to a girl’s house in The Laurels; he gave a first name for the girl but would not provide her address or phone number. He reportedly said he had been on the phone with the girl just before the officer made contact with him, but the officer was unable to verify this after reviewing Booth’s call log and Instagram log.

Booth reportedly said that while walking through the complex, the four men had remained on the sidewalk and had not touched any vehicles; he said that when an officer confronted them with a flashlight in his hand, he fled in fear because he is on felony probation.

Booth later said that the four of them had gone to the area to break into vehicles but said they never actually tried to do that; he said they had just gotten to The Laurels when the officer confronted them. However, he then tried to change his story and reportedly said he had never said that.

A search of Booth, incident to arrest, reportedly produced a wallet that was not his, and he reportedly acknowledged the wallet was not his but said he had found it on the ground and denied taking it from a vehicle. He denied entering any vehicles or trying any door handles and denied seeing any of the others trying to enter vehicles.

Booth reportedly admitted that he had tried to hide from officers, and when he saw their drones in the air, he knew they were looking for him; he said, “Once I saw the drones, I knew I was going to jail.” He also reportedly acknowledged hearing officers giving multiple commands to surrender, but he ignored them. He said he saw officers running past him, but once he was located and detained, he reportedly denied ignoring lawful commands.

Booth, Gordon, and McNeal reportedly denied ever trying to enter vehicles, even after they were told there were multiple angles of video that showed them trying to enter several vehicles.

At the time of the arrests, the owners of the vehicles had not been identified, so the men were not charged with vehicle burglary.

Booth has been charged with loitering/prowling and resisting an officer without violence. He has juvenile convictions between 2019 and 2023 and one adult felony conviction (non-violent). He was arrested in November 2024 for domestic battery, robbery by sudden snatching, preventing a victim from calling 911, and tampering with evidence. After he entered a plea of nolo contendere to tampering with evidence, Judge David Kreider ordered that adjudication of guilt be withheld and sentenced him to two years of probation in December 2024. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $25,000.

Gordon has been charged with loitering/prowling. He has no criminal convictions, and Judge Van Vorst set bail at $2,500.

McNeal has been charged with loitering/prowling. He has no criminal history, and Judge Van Vorst set bail at $2,000.

Pete has been charged with loitering/prowling. He has no criminal convictions, and Judge Van Vorst set bail at $2,000.

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.