Man arrested for staying in Airbnb without permission

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kenneth Gavin Webb, 43, of Fruitland Park, was arrested early this morning for burglary and drug possession after the owner of an Airbnb reported that he was seen entering the apartment.

At about 1:04 a.m. on February 15, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to an apartment at The Laurels (4411 SW 34th Street), where the owner of an Airbnb reported that video surveillance showed a stranger entering the apartment several times.

An officer made contact with Webb at the front door of the Airbnb, and Webb stated spontaneously that his friend told him he could stay there.

Post Miranda, Webb reportedly said his friend was renting the Airbnb and let him stay there. He said he had previously stayed at the Airbnb on February 6, and he showed the officer text messages in which another person sent him a screenshot of the Airbnb on February 6. However, the owner of the Airbnb said that the previous rental agreement had ended on February 13.

The officer noted that the most recent text messages between Webb and the other person did not support Webb’s claim that he had been invited to the Airbnb that evening. The officer said the messages showed Webb repeatedly asking the other person for a place to stay and the other person refusing. In the messages, the other person said they no longer had the door code and had never invited Webb to the Airbnb or anywhere else.

Webb reportedly told the officer that the door was unlocked when he arrived, and the officer noted that there were no signs of forced entry.

Webb reportedly gave consent for a search of his person, and the search reportedly produced a glass pipe, typically used for consuming narcotics. The officer also reported that there were several items belonging to Webb on a table in the living room, including a razor blade containing about 0.1 grams of a white substance that tested positive for fentanyl.

Post Miranda, Webb reportedly denied that the fentanyl was his, but he admitted that the other items on the table were his, including his cell phone, vape, and take-out food. He reportedly said he had been eating the take-out food when the officer knocked on the door.

Webb, whose address is listed as Fruitland Park, has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Tatum Davis set bail at $202,000.

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.