Gainesville woman arrested for burglary and theft

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Stacie Nicole Edwards, 29, was arrested yesterday morning after allegedly forcibly entering a home, destroying surveillance cameras, and stealing items.

A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that the victim saw Edwards on her interior surveillance cameras at about 10:40 a.m. on November 20, when she was away from her home; Edwards had allegedly forcefully entered the residence and had then destroyed cameras, limiting the victim’s ability to see her while she was inside the residence. The victim said her surveillance video showed Edwards leaving the residence with a bulging plastic bag that she did not have when she entered.

Officers searched the home and then issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for Edwards, who was later found near the Wawa on NW 13th Street; when she was found, she no longer had the bag, but she was wearing the same clothes that were seen on the video. She allegedly ran when she saw officers, but a short time later, a detective in an unmarked patrol car saw her in a neighborhood near the burglarized residence, and marked patrol units responded to arrest her.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced three football trading cards that belonged to the victim, 3.7 grams of marijuana, 1.8 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, and a “meth pipe.”

Edwards, whose address is listed as GRACE Marketplace in recent court records, has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, possession of a controlled substance, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft, and property damage. She has an extensive history of arrests going back to 2016, but only one conviction, a felony (non-violent). She was arrested in January for drug possession, and a sworn complaint for burglary was filed in September, but both cases were dropped. She is facing a sworn complaint for grand theft for allegedly stealing a bicycle on the UF campus in July. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $30,000.

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.