Gainesville man arrested for breaking into home

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christopher Alexander Brown, 44, was arrested last night for allegedly breaking into a home and damaging the home by smoking; he was also charged with possession of burglary tools and drug possession.

At about 6:50 p.m. on October 15, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to a home after the property owner reported that someone had broken in and was still inside. A deputy made contact with Brown, who reportedly said he had been smoking inside the home and had left his mower in the shed behind the house. He reportedly said he did not know the owner of the home and had not received permission to be in the home.

Brown reportedly had a bag that contained his birth certificate and a set of lock-picking tools, along with a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Multiple cigarette butts were reportedly on the floor inside the home, near Brown’s bag.

Brown’s listed address is a few houses down from the victim’s home.

The victim said the cigarette butts had not previously been there, and the damage to the home from the cigarette smoke was estimated at about $600, along with damage to window blinds that was estimated at $100.

Brown was reportedly wearing a lanyard around his neck with a key to a padlock that secured the door of the shed behind the home. The victim said the padlock was different from the one she had used on the shed, and a lawn mower found inside the shed was not hers.

Post Miranda, Brown reportedly said the mower was not his, which contradicted his earlier statement that he had left his mower in the shed. He said multiple times that he had not broken into the home, and he said he had picked up the baggie of drugs off the ground and did not know what was in it.

Brown has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, possession of burglary tools, possession of a controlled substance, and property damage. He has 14 felony convictions (non-violent) and nine misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2019. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail on the burglary charge, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing. Judge Miller-Jones set bail at $55,000 on the other charges.

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.