Homeless man charged with 6th indecent exposure incident in a year; recent incidents were near campus

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tracy Leon Smith, Jr., 36, has been charged with a sixth indecent exposure incident in a year, this one on campus, near Norman Field at SW 13th Street and SW 8th Avenue. Smith has been in the Alachua County Jail since October 6 on a previous indecent exposure charge.

The victim told a University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) Officer that she was walking her dog near Norman Field at about 5:30 a.m. on September 25 when a man approached her, wanting to pet her dog. She said the man was masturbating, so she called 911 and the man fled.

The victim was able to describe the man, and a Gainesville Police Department officer told UFPD that the description and type of crime were consistent with other offenses committed by Smith. Smith has also been trespassed from properties in the area, including Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority and Greystone Apartments. The victim identified Smith in a photo line-up.

Post Miranda, Smith reportedly said he is homeless but stays “around y’all area,” meaning the University of Florida. Smith indicated that he sleeps in the area of Campus Walk Apartments and gets up early, before the sun rises. When the officer asked where he had been in the early morning hours of September 25, Smith initially said he couldn’t remember anything, but when the officer described the victim and her dog, Smith’s face reportedly lit up, and he said he remembered the dog and that he told the victim she had a beautiful dog.

Smith reportedly denied masturbating in front of the victim, but later he said he “did probably sit down there and play with [his organ].” The officer asked again whether he’d exposed himself while the victim was near him, and he reportedly replied, “Yes, ma’am.” Smith said he never had intentions to harm anyone and “was just doing what a man does”; he asked the officer to apologize to the victim.

Smith was arrested in October 2022 for exposing himself and arrested again in June 2023 for exposing himself on the Hawthorne Trail (the charge in that case has been dropped). The October 6 arrest was for an indecent exposure incident in an undisclosed apartment building, and three other sworn complaints are pending against him for indecent exposure. Some of the charges are for a first offense and others are for a second or subsequent offense, although he has not been convicted yet (he was convicted of drug possession in the October 2022 case, but the indecent exposure charge was dropped) and some first offense charges were filed after the second offense charges were filed.

Smith has 11 felony convictions and served a 16-month prison term for cocaine possession and distribution; he was released in 2008. Since 2019, numerous charges against him have been dropped, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, petit theft, battery, burglary, and property damage. He served 180 days in the Alachua County Jail following the October 2022 drug possession conviction.

Smith remains in the Alachua County Jail on $20,000 bail on the October 6 charge (a misdemeanor “first offense” charge) and $5,000 bail on the September 25 charge (a felony “second or subsequent offense” charge).

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.