Gainesville man arrested for entering stranger’s apartment and refusing to leave

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Michael Moyer, 35, was arrested yesterday after allegedly entering a stranger’s apartment and refusing to leave.

At about 3:57 p.m. on December 13, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to 39th Avenue Apartments (1020 NW 39th Avenue), where the victim said she was in her apartment with the door unlocked because maintenance workers were doing renovations and going in and out. She said she was sitting on the couch when Moyer came in the front door without permission and said he was being chased by someone and was hiding from them.

She said she asked him to leave multiple times, but he refused and told her to be quiet because “they” could hear. She said he kept looking through the peephole in the door, checking for the people who were allegedly chasing him, and then he walked over to the couch and started talking to her about the people chasing him.

Another person called 911 for the victim because her phone was not in service; the caller said he saw Moyer when he entered the apartment, told him to leave, and guided him out the door while he was on the phone with the call-taker. He said he tried to follow Moyer but lost sight of him.

Moyer was found south of the original incident, where a camera showed him running through a creek bed; he also allegedly sat on the front porch of a residential property before leaving but did not appear to try to enter that house.

Moyer reportedly left a book bag behind that contained documents showing his name and date of birth. The bag also reportedly contained a crack pipe and pieces of a used brillo pad.

Post Miranda, Moyer reportedly said the victim gave him permission to enter her apartment and said he was running from the police. He reportedly said he had recently smoked an unknown drug he called “HARD,” which he got from a friend.

Moyer has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has one felony conviction and four misdemeanor convictions, all drug- or alcohol-related. Judge Adam Lee set bail at $50,000.

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.