Man on probation arrested for prowling, providing false name, and drug possession

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Connor Joseph O’Neil, 31, was arrested early this morning after a deputy reportedly found him loitering behind a closed office building at about 4 a.m.

At about 4:13 a.m. on December 16, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that he saw O’Neil “quickly” leave the Baymont Inn on an electric scooter, apparently after seeing the deputy’s patrol vehicle. The deputy noted, “This is a documented high crime, high drug motel.”

A short time later, the deputy reported seeing O’Neil standing in a dark area behind a closed office building nearby; the deputy noted that vehicles and businesses in that area are frequently burglarized and O’Neil’s actions “established reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity and trespassing while loitering & prowling at a time in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals.”

The deputy reported that O’Neil seemed extremely nervous when he spoke to him and was sweaty despite the cool weather; he wrote that O’Neil stayed hunched over the scooter, which had several exposed wires and a disconnected handle. The deputy reported that O’Neil was unable to provide a legitimate reason to be at the building and said he had just visited his girlfriend at the Baymont Inn but did not know her name. O’Neil also reportedly said he borrowed the scooter from a friend but did not know the friend’s name, either.

O’Neil reportedly said he had no identification on him and gave the name “Joseph Alan Williams” with a birthday that was one day and one year off from his actual birthdate. As deputies were patting him down to check for weapons since he had mentioned having a knife, O’Neil reportedly said he was “going to jail” since he lied about his name.

At that point, O’Neil was placed under arrest. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a syringe with an unknown residue and an Alprazolam pill. O’Neil reportedly stated spontaneously that he did not know what was in the syringe and had recently found the pill but didn’t know what it was, either. O’Neil also reportedly had his Florida ID card, although he had said he had no identification.

Post Miranda, O’Neil declined to speak further.

O’Neil, who is homeless according to his arrest report, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, giving false identification information to law enforcement, resisting an officer without violence, and loitering/prowling. He has two felony convictions and is on probation out of Pinellas County for armed burglary. The arrest report notes that he is a designated violent felony offender of special concern. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $45,000.

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.