Man arrested for breaking into GRU building

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Darren Walker, 43, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure after a GRU employee reported that Walker was inside a GRU building and that a window had been shattered.

The GRU employee told a Gainesville Police Department Officer that he saw a man coming out of the building at 525 SE 4th Avenue, and the man told the employee not to mess with his belongings that were inside the building. The employee told the officer that the man’s posture was aggressive and that after speaking to him, the man walked west on SE 4th Avenue.

The officer stopped Walker in the 400 block of S. Main Street, and the employee positively identified him as the man who had walked out of the GRU building.

Post Miranda, Walker reportedly denied ever being at the GRU building, but when the officer said a witness had positively identified him, he said he had only slept at the building the previous night and he is not the only one who sleeps at the building. He reportedly denied breaking the window of the building.

Walker has eight felony convictions (four violent) and 20 misdemeanor convictions (two violent). He has served two state prison sentences and was most recently released in August 2020. He has a pending sworn complaint for felony battery. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $1,000.

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.