Homeless man arrested after attempted robbery near University and 13th

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Eric Robert Channing, 32, who is listed as homeless, was arrested late last night for allegedly trying to rob two people on University Avenue near NW 13th Street.

At about 11 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a report of an attempted robbery and made contact with the victims in the 1500 block of University Avenue. The victims told the officer that Channing started yelling at them, using vulgar language. They said they walked away from Channing, but he then approached them aggressively and told them to give him their wallets or he would punch them in the face. The victims said an unknown man passing by got between them and broke up the potential robbery. Channing was found near the scene, and the victims confirmed that he was the man who attempted to rob them.

Post Miranda, Channing reportedly said he had been asleep since the football game ended in the afternoon and had never interacted with the victims.

In August, Channing was arrested for allegedly burning another man while sleeping, and he was arrested in January for allegedly trying to rob a couple in the same area where yesterday’s alleged robbery happened. A sworn complaint was filed in August, with the victims stating that he had demanded that they give him a free beverage from a restaurant in the 1400 block of W. University Avenue and said he would beat them up when they left work if they did not give him the drink. All of the charges in the above cases were dropped.

Channing has been charged with two counts of robbery with no weapon. He has two felony convictions, with the most recent in 2022, and he is being held on $50,000 bail.

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.