Man arrested on burglary warrant after running from officers responding to report that he was lying on a sidewalk on UF campus
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Timothy Booker Lancaster, 33, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for burglary after allegedly running from officers responding to a call about a man lying on a sidewalk on campus.
At about 3:41 p.m. on April 5, University of Florida Police Department Officers responded to a call about a man lying on the side of Cypress Hall and smoking; the caller said he had asked the man to leave, and the man refused. The man was described as shirtless and wearing black and yellow pants.
The officer reported finding Lancaster, who matched the description, sitting on the sidewalk on SW 13th Street near Cypress Hall. An officer asked how he was and said people were concerned about him; the man reportedly said he was trying to get a ride and wondered why there was no cab service. The officers identified the man as Lancaster and learned that he had a warrant for his arrest.
When the officers informed Lancaster that he had a warrant and asked him to stand up, he allegedly ran across four lanes of traffic on SW 13th Street toward Norman Field and then into Garage 8. A third officer arrived and told Lancaster to get on the ground, and Lancaster complied and was arrested.
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced three iPads, two cell phones, a Nintendo Wii, identification cards in other names, and about $1,300 in cash. These items were placed into evidence.
The officers also learned that Lancaster had been trespassed from all UF properties since 2022 and that there was video footage showing him lying on the ground next to Cypress Hall.
Lancaster has been charged with trespassing after a warning and resisting an officer without violence. He was also booked on a warrant for attempting to break in to Mini Maid (1831 NW 12th Terrace) in November 2024 and stealing items from one of their vans. He is also facing a sworn complaint from February for shooting himself in the hand in a tent near GRACE Marketplace and then calling 911 to say someone shot him and tried to rob him in a different location.
Lancaster has six felony convictions (none violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in September 2024.
Judge Mitchell Bishop set bail at $10,000 on the new charges on top of the $100,000 from the warrant.
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.
This, campus cops, is why you don’t tell them they have a warrant before handcuffing them.
He made it to the top of the dummy tree and hit his head on every branch on the way down.
There they go again. Busy body people who should mind their own damn business and the biased confrontational police who have nothing better to do won’t leave people alone and hassle them instead of helping them. He was on lying on a sidewalk, smoking a cigarette, not bothering anybody. Mind your own damn business!
The Karens on campus call whenever someone doesn’t ‘look like they belong’. See something say something (racist, classist, sexist, etc ist).
This isn’t a one time thing with the homeless around here. You give an inch and they take a mile. Sidewalks are for walking, Not laying on.
Cypress Hall is a dorm. It’s not an ordinary classroom building or library, where he probably wouldn’t have stood out.
33 is a little late to decide you screwed up life and wished you took grade skool days more seriously.
ACLUSPLCDNC 👿👺👹💩🤡
Speaking of taking grade school seriously, consistency is key when using infinitive forms of verbs (i.e., to [verb]). Also, “took” is the wrong tense. Plus, you should never start a sentence with a numeral.
“Thirty-three is a little late to decide you screwed up life and to wish you had taken grade skool [sic] days more seriously.”
You’re welcome.
Lives in Grace Marketplace and has three iPads, two cell phones, a Nintendo Wii, and $1,300 in cash?
Kudos to city of Gainesville for funding Grace. It shows that when folks can live rent free, they can get ahead and accumulate wealth and join the middle class faster. More Grace, it really really helps people.
It’s hard to tell why this guy didn’t just lay down on a sidewalk in front of the police station. He probably would have just gotten a free ride to Grace.
Since he wasn’t charged with all of the IDs and property, does that mean they are all his?
The frequency of these homeless aberrant behaviors are only going to increase with our 2 new homeless motels located nearby. Be sure and thank your city commissioners.