Homeless man arrested on warrant after running from officer trying to cite him for panhandling

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Steven Michael Carter, 73, was arrested on December 27 after allegedly running from an officer who was trying to cite him for panhandling; he was also booked on a warrant for dealing in stolen property.

At about 7:30 p.m. on December 27, a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer saw Carter standing on a narrow median on East University Avenue; in Gainesville, it is illegal to “stay for any purpose” on a median less than six feet wide. According to a GPD spokesman, this was Carter’s sixth citation under that ordinance.

When the officer activated his lights, Carter allegedly ran away but was eventually apprehended by the officer; Carter also allegedly resisted attempts to handcuff him.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a glass pipe that is commonly used to ingest narcotics, and Carter has been charged with resisting an officer without violence and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Post Miranda, Carter reportedly said the pipe was his and that he uses it to smoke “whatever narcotics were made available to him by his friends.” He reportedly said the pipe would probably test positive for crack cocaine. He said he didn’t know he had a warrant, and he could not explain why he ran from the officer.

Carter was also booked for allegedly selling stolen diving watches to a pawn shop on July 1; the watches had been stolen from a vehicle about 10 hours before they were sold to the pawn shop. According to the sworn complaint, surveillance video shows that the items were probably stolen by an unidentified man who accompanied Carter to the pawn shop. Carter has been charged with dealing in stolen property and falsely claiming ownership of pawned items.

Carter, who is described as homeless in court documents, has no criminal convictions. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $105,000.

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.