Man wanted on felony battery charge arrested for trying to steal package off porch

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Brence Roberts, Jr., 33, was arrested yesterday morning after allegedly trying to steal a package with contents worth $2,000 from the porch of a residence. He also had an outstanding warrant for aggravated battery.

The victim told a Gainesville Police Department Officer that he saw Roberts on his doorbell camera, trying to take a shipping box that contained $2,000 worth of products. The victim said he confronted Roberts and told him to “get off his block.”

The responding officer contacted Roberts a short distance away, wearing the clothes described by the victim, which were distinctive because Roberts was reportedly wearing one black and one white calf-high socks. The victim also reportedly identified Roberts as the man he had confronted on his porch and showed the officer the surveillance video.

In a search incident to arrest, the officer reportedly found 0.5 grams of a white rock-like substance that tested positive for cocaine in Roberts’ sock.

Roberts also had an active warrant for allegedly hitting another person on the head with a liquor bottle in October.

Roberts has three felony convictions and seven misdemeanor convictions. He has served one state prison sentence and was released in February 2020. One felony charge and five misdemeanor charges in five different cases have been dropped since 2020. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $160,000.

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.