Homeless man arrested for entering occupied apartment and looking through refrigerator and cabinets

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Michael Scott Vicary, 67, was arrested early this morning after allegedly entering an occupied apartment near campus and looking through the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets.

At about 2:19 a.m. on August 2, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to an apartment building at 1235 NW 5th Avenue, where one of the occupants had heard noises in the kitchen and looked out of her bedroom door to see an unknown man in the kitchen, looking into the refrigerator and cabinets. The victim described the man as a 70-to-80-year-old white man wearing a flannel shirt.

Officers found Vicary, who matched the description, near the lobby of the apartment building, and other officers found the victim’s work ID badge on top of Vicary’s belongings. The victim positively identified Vicary as the man she’d seen in her kitchen.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a metal water bottle and a glass water cup that belonged to the victims.

Post Miranda, Vicary reportedly confessed to entering the apartment because the door was unlocked, and he admitted to taking the victim’s badge before leaving the apartment. He said he does not live in the building and was just checking it out.

Vicary, whose address is listed as GRACE Marketplace, has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling and petit theft. He has no local criminal history, but he has an extensive criminal history over the past three years in Palm Beach County; he was most recently convicted of shoplifting on June 1 and sentenced to time served. Judge Denise Ferrero set bail at $150,000.

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.