Man on probation arrested for climbing into window of ex-girlfriend’s apartment
Staff report
Updated on October 5 with pre-trial detention information.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fernando Devonn Bradford, 54, was arrested last night for allegedly climbing in the window of an ex-girlfriend’s apartment.
At about 10:50 p.m. on September 25, Bradford’s ex-girlfriend’s sister was alone at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment when she heard noises in a bedroom; in fear that someone was in the apartment, she ran to a neighboring apartment and asked them to call 911. She said she never heard anyone knock on the front door or announce their presence in the apartment.
The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported finding a chair in front of an open window at the front of the apartment, and a light bulb that had been taken from the front door light was found near the chair.
Post Miranda, Bradford reportedly said he had returned to the apartment, knowing his ex-girlfriend was at work, to pick up some of his belongings that had been left at the apartment when he moved out in March. He reportedly admitted to taking the bulb from the front door light so nobody would see him climbing into the window, and then he moved the chair so he could enter the apartment through the window.
The officer reported that a bag found at the front door of the apartment contained some of Bradford’s clothing, but the bag was not his, and there were beers in the bag that did not belong to him.
Bradford reportedly said he had been drinking before going to the apartment, and the officer reported that he smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech and foam at the corners of his mouth.
Bradford, a designated violent felony offender of special concern, has been charged with two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling. He has four felony convictions (two violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 1997. He is on probation following a 2024 arrest for battery on a person over 65.
Judge George Wright ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial. On October 5, Judge Robert Groeb granted the motion and ordered him held without bail until trial.
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.