Homeless man arrested for stealing car

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Keeshay Jamaal Sumpter, 27, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft of a car.

A Gainesville Police Department officer responded on March 26 to a report that a car had been stolen from Aloha Liquors at 900 E. University Avenue. At about 1:30 p.m. yesterday, the car was found parked at a home in the 200 block of SE 14th Street. Sumpter was reportedly seen walking away from the car, carrying a white plastic bag. When an officer made contact with Sumpter, he reportedly threw down a car key and began to run. After he was given verbal commands to stop, he reportedly threw the bag against a tree.

The officer reported that the key thrown down by Sumpter belonged to the stolen vehicle; the bag allegedly contained property belonging to the owner of the car.

Sumpter, whose listed address is GRACE Marketplace, also has an open sworn complaint alleging that he stole over $200 in merchandise from O’Reilly Auto Parts at 1208 E. University Avenue on February 17 and punched an employee who tried to stop him. On February 14, Sumpter entered a plea of nolo contendere in five separate retail theft cases and was sentenced to time served (44 days) and court costs. A charge of stealing a scooter was dropped earlier this year. Grand theft charges were dropped last year in two cases in which Sumpter allegedly stole from people who let him stay in their houses.

Sumpter has two felony convictions, with the most recent in 2019 for selling methamphetamine in Manatee County, and he served a prison sentence of one year and two months in that case. Five of his eight misdemeanor convictions were for cases over the past six months in Alachua County. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $15,000.

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.