Man on pre-trial release arrested for breaking window

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Cecil Eugene Boykin, Jr., 40, was arrested early this morning after allegedly breaking a window of an apartment in the Holly Heights area.

At about 1:30 a.m. on December 15, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report of a residential burglary, and the victim said that earlier in the evening, she’d had a guest she knew as “Solo” at her apartment; “Solo” was later identified as Boykin.

The victim said Boykin was complaining about his personal problems, and when she said she didn’t want to hear about his problems, he left; however, later, she heard a loud noise from the back of her apartment and saw Boykin running away. She said she found that her back window was shattered, and an old table was broken into pieces. The victim said the table had been in the bushes behind the house for a long time, and it appeared the Boykin had picked it up and used it to break the window. The damage was estimated at about $200.

A witness who lives in the victim’s apartment said he was about to go to sleep when he heard a loud “bang” on his bedroom window; he said there were two more loud bangs, and then the window shattered. He heard a man yell something from outside the window, and he said he recognized “Solo’s” voice.

The deputy reportedly found Boykin hiding in some bushes, and the victim reportedly identified him as “Solo.”

When Boykin was asked about the incident, he reportedly made multiple conflicting statements and said he had gone to the victim’s apartment because she called him for help.

Boykin has been charged with misdemeanor property damage. He is also facing a sworn complaint from an incident on November 13 in which he allegedly intentionally broke a window of a different victim’s residence before making a false report to 911 that someone had been shot; as a result of the false report, deputies abandoned the perimeter they had set to catch Boykin, which allowed him to get away.

Boykin has 11 felony convictions (one violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (two violent) and is on pre-trial release following an arrest for methamphetamine possession in June 2024 during the investigation of a battery call. Boykin has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2021. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $7,500 on the property damage 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.