Gainesville man charged in burglary of car wash

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Christopher Thomas Davis, Sr., 51, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with burglary of the Brighton Beach Car Wash and methamphetamine possession.

On July 21, an Alachua Police Department officer responded to a report of a burglary at Brighton Beach Car Wash, 11202 NW U.S. Hwy 441; the business owner said that two men came to the car wash overnight in a dark blue sedan, and one man used a power tool to cut into the soffit of the business while the second acted as a lookout. The suspect who entered through the roof located a key that enabled the men to unlock the cash boxes, and they allegedly stole cash and tokens from the machines. The owner reportedly identified one of the men as Stephen Rippy, who was personally known to him, and Rippy was arrested on July 22.

Similar burglaries were reported in Gainesville and Alachua County, with the same dark blue sedan on surveillance video in those incidents. Rippy was located in the sedan on July 21, and the arresting Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies reported that the sedan was registered to Davis.

Post Miranda, Rippy reportedly said that he and Davis committed the Brighton Beach Car Wash burglary and that Davis had sawed into the soffit of the building while he acted as a lookout.

Post Miranda, Davis reportedly said he had nothing to do with the burglary; he said he was at home during the burglary and did not know whether anyone was using his vehicle. He said he was nowhere near the car wash at the time of the burglary. However, when he was searched, a Brighton Beach Car Wash token was reportedly found in his pocket; when asked about this, Davis reportedly said he found it in his car and put it in his pocket, but he stayed home.

The deputy asked whether a search of his phone would provide any data showing that he was in the area of the burglary, and Davis reportedly said there would be indications that he sells “ice cream” (methamphetamine), but nothing else. Davis reportedly said he left his car in his vehicle overnight to charge on the night of the burglary, but he stayed home to sleep.

When asked about his resemblance to one of the men on surveillance video, Davis reportedly said it could be his brother; the deputy noted that this was unlikely because Rippy said Davis participated in the burglary and Rippy and Davis live together.

A search warrant was issued for Davis’ cell phone, and the search reportedly found that events were logged through the night of July 20-21, including connecting to and disconnecting from a charger and accessing various applications. The deputy noted that the phone is secured by a passcode, so this indicated that Davis used his phone throughout the night, and location data reportedly showed that the phone was in the area of the car wash at the time of the burglary.

Davis has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure, property damage over $1,000, and petit theft with prior convictions.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, and deputies arrested him on August 24 at his home. Davis reportedly asked a deputy multiple times to give his wallet to his wife, but the deputy denied the request because the wallet needed to be searched, incident to arrest.

The wallet reportedly contained 0.34 grams of methamphetamine, and Davis was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

Davis is being held on the $150,000 bail set by Judge David Kreider in the arrest warrant. Bail for the drug charge is not currently available.

Davis is also facing a sworn complaint for a similar burglary at Splash and Dash car wash in Newberry in October 2023, but he has not been booked in that case. Davis has 11 felony convictions (one violent) and 11 misdemeanor convictions; he has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2018. In March 2024, he was sentenced to 300 days in jail with credit for 230 days served after violating probation for burglary and grand theft.

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.