Gainesville man caught burglarizing home

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Rickie Jerome West, 53, was arrested yesterday after allegedly breaking into a home and taking several items.

At about 1:51 p.m. on December 25, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a home in the 1100 block of SW 4th Avenue. The victim, who was not home, said West entered his bedroom and took a pair of speakers worth $500; when West saw a surveillance camera, he allegedly knocked it off its mount, causing about $100 in damage. West allegedly went into a second bedroom and placed several pieces of jewelry worth $30 into a bag he was carrying.

The officer reported that he encountered West as he was walking out of the house.

West has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft of property from a dwelling, petit theft, and property damage over $200. He has 10 felony convictions (none violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served seven state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2017. West was arrested in June 2024 for selling drugs in a park and sentenced to six months in jail after entering a plea of nolo contendere to a drug possession charge; he was released from the jail on November 8.

Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $70,000 on the new 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.