Man on probation arrested on VOP warrant after K-9 reportedly found him hiding in a box “specifically engineered” to evade capture

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Anthony Keith Gilliam, 48, was arrested on Monday on a warrant for violating probation after a K-9 reportedly found him hiding in a closet inside a box that was “homemade and specifically engineered to hide inside and evade capture from law enforcement.”

At about 10:43 a.m. on February 17, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies went to a home in the 7600 block of SW 122nd Street in an effort to locate Gilliam, who reportedly gave his probation officer an address in Waldo that turned out to be an empty lot.

Gilliam was initially arrested last June, and in September, he entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of domestic battery and fleeing law enforcement stemming from a December 2023 incident in which he battered his girlfriend and then fled from law enforcement, including running a red light at a busy intersection. He was sentenced to six months in jail, followed by two years of probation, and after he was released in December, his probation officer went to the address provided by Gilliam and found an empty lot. The probation officer filed a violation report, and a warrant for Gilliam’s arrest was issued.

On February 17, deputies went to the address of the original incident, where the victim of that incident reportedly told them that Gilliam was not there.

Deputies reportedly gave “numerous” commands for Gilliam to come out of the residence, but they received no response. An ASO K-9 team searched the residence and reportedly found Gilliam hiding in a bedroom closet.

Gilliam was reportedly in a “cardboard box that had been wrapped with a cloth dresser and had more clothes on top of it. The object was homemade and specifically engineered to hide inside and evade capture from law enforcement.”

A charge of resisting an officer without violence was added to the warrant for violating probation.

Gilliam has six felony convictions (two violent) and nine misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he is currently on probation. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $20,000 on the new charge and ordered him held without bail until the probation violation case is resolved.

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.