Man arrested after property owner found him sleeping in his master bedroom

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jason Michael Thomas, 41, was arrested yesterday after a property owner reported finding Thomas sleeping in his master bedroom.

A neighbor told the responding Gainesville Police Department officer that he had seen Thomas going in and out of the victim’s backyard on Friday and saw him take shovels to work in the front and back yard. The witness found the activity suspicious and contacted the property owner, who went to the property on Saturday and found the door to the home open. The property owner requested a security sweep of the home, and officers reportedly found Thomas sleeping in the master bedroom.

Thomas reportedly told the officers that he was doing the community a service by cleaning up the backyard of the property and that he was working for Habitat for Humanity. [Habitat for Humanity told us he is not affiliated with their organization and is not a volunteer.] However, the property owner told officers he didn’t know Thomas and that Thomas did not have permission to be on the property.

The property owner also told officers that the master bathroom door was damaged and that the air conditioner had been tampered with.

Moore has been charged with burglary with property damage over $1,000 and criminal mischief. He has one felony conviction and 18 misdemeanor convictions. He recently served 110 days in the Alachua County Jail after violating his probation on a felony theft charge. In April 2022, he was charged with threatening his brother with a knife and setting his brother’s sofa on fire, and in July 2022, he was charged with throwing a concrete block at a vehicle in Harbor Cove Apartments, but charges were dropped in both cases. Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

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.