Homeless man arrested for breaking Publix glass door as store was closing

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shaun Phillip Bond, 59, was arrested last night after allegedly cracking a glass door at the Publix on Main Street because he wanted to re-enter the store after it closed.

At about 10:09 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Publix (1302 N. Main Street), where a store employee said Bond had been walking “erratically” around the store for about 5-10 minutes before closing time, scaring the customers. The employee said Bond left the store and wandered around the parking lot before trying to go back into the store; Bond reportedly asked the employee if he was a police officer.

The employee said he was locking the entrance doors at closing time when Bond approached him and said people were following him, so the employee needed to let him in. The employee told him the store was closed and he needed to leave, but Bond reportedly told the employee he was coming into the store. The employee managed to close and lock the door while Bond allegedly tried to push the doors open while screaming to be let in. When the employee said he was calling the police, Bond allegedly threw a can of wasp spray at the door, cracking the glass. The employee said he closed the metal shutters over the glass and called 911.

The responding officer found Bond leaving the area on a bicycle and detained him, and the employee positively identified Bond as the man who had tried to break in to the store.

Post Miranda, Bond reportedly said he was trying to enter the store and became furious when the employee would not let him in. He admitted that the employee had told him to leave but said he needed to get into the store because people were following him, so when the employee closed the door, he threw a can of wasp spray at the door.

The officer noted that he did not see anyone following Bond, and Bond would not say who was allegedly following him.

Bond, whose address is listed as GRACE Marketplace, has been charged with attempted burglary. He has five felony convictions (one violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent). He was arrested in January 2023 at GRACE Marketplace for pointing an air rifle at multiple people and threatening to shoot them; he also kicked police officers and spat on them. In July 2023, he was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to a state mental hospital; he was found competent to stand trial in February 2024 and entered a plea of nolo contendere to battery on a police officer in a deal that dropped two aggravated assault charges. He was sentenced to 6 months in jail with credit for 6 months served and was released.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $25,000 on the new charges and ordered a mental health evaluation within 24 hours.

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.