Homeless man arrested for November 2025 firearm theft from vehicle in Alachua

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Nathan James Thompson, 19, has been charged with burglary and grand theft of a firearm; the incident took place in November 2025, but he has been incarcerated in Clay County for burglarizing vehicles.

On November 7, 2025, an Alachua Police Department officer responded to a home in Montclair (15500 block of NW 136th Terrace) and reviewed a video showing a white male in a checked hooded jacket who entered a vehicle; the victim said a Sig Sauer P238 pistol was stolen.

The agency posted the video on social media, asking for help from the public in identifying the suspect, and an anonymous tip was received with a photo of Thompson wearing the same hooded jacket. A search of law enforcement databases showed that Thompson had been charged with multiple similar crimes in Jacksonville and in Clay County.

An officer interviewed Thompson at the Clay County Jail, and post Miranda, Thompson reportedly confirmed that he was in Alachua at the time of the burglary; he reportedly admitted to taking the gun from the car, although he said he had been looking for money because he was homeless. He said he put the gun in his backpack, but at some point, someone took it, and he did not know where it was.

Thompson was booked into the Alachua County Jail yesterday and charged with burglary of an unoccupied vehicle and grand theft of a firearm. He has four felony convictions (one violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent). Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $300,000.

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.