Palatka man arrested for harassing apartment complex employees

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jesse Paul, 21, of Palatka, was arrested yesterday for allegedly harassing employees of an apartment complex.

On March 16, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Lexington Crossing Apartments, where the victims said Paul had filled out an application to lease an apartment, but on March 12, before his application had been approved, he allegedly broke into the complex’s model apartment and slept and showered in the apartment. At the time, the apartment complex did not want to file charges against Paul, and they simply trespassed him from the property.

However, Paul allegedly continued to contact the leasing office by phone and text, even after he was told that any further communication should be directed to the corporate office via email. The responding officer noted that while she was at the leasing office, Paul called three times in 14 minutes, and one of the employees had received about six text messages over the past few days. One of the texts reportedly included a gun emoji.

Paul has been charged with harassment for making phone calls and sending messages with the purpose of harassing and scaring the recipients. He told Court Services that he lives in Palatka and has been in Alachua County for one day. He has no criminal history, and Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him released on his own recognizance.

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.