Shands employee arrested for keying vehicle in parking garage; he was also wanted on felony charges from June

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Troy Johntavis Johnson Jr., 23, was arrested yesterday for allegedly keying a vehicle in a Shands parking garage; he was also booked on a felony warrant from a June incident.

At about 3:36 p.m. on November 23, a University of Florida Police Department officer responded to Garage 10 on the UF campus (1269 Newell Drive), where the victim said a black male wearing a white turban had threatened him and keyed his car; the suspect’s car was still in the garage.

The victim said he had parked in the garage at about 1:30 p.m., and the suspect got out of the vehicle in front of him, upset that the victim had taken his parking spot. The suspect said, “I’ll whip your <expletive>, and I’ll key you.” The victim said he didn’t take the threat seriously and went into the hospital. When he came out a few hours later, he found key marks on his car.

The officer reported that there were multiple fresh key scratches on the victim’s car, and the victim said the paint job was a custom color; he estimated it would cost $500 to $1,000 to repair the damage.

The victim pointed out the suspect’s car, and the officer identified Johnson as the owner of the vehicle from the tag number. He also noted that Johnson had an active warrant for aggravated assault, robbery by sudden snatching, and property damage.

The officer found that Johnson worked at Shands, and Johnson was located inside the hospital and arrested at 4:20 p.m. The victim identified Johnson as the man who had threatened him, and the officer confirmed that keys in Johnson’s pocket belonged to the suspect’s vehicle.

Post Miranda, Johnson reportedly did not want to say anything.

Johnson has been charged with misdemeanor property damage for the parking garage incident.

On June 21, Johnson was reportedly arguing with a woman when he snatched her phone and threw it out of a car window; the victim said she stopped the car to look for it but did not find it. A short time later, Johnson allegedly kicked the woman’s car, causing about $200 in damage. When the woman went to Johnson’s mother’s home to get her other phone, Johnson allegedly came outside with a handgun, but his mother took the gun from him; a friend of the woman reportedly captured a video showing the handgun. Johnson has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, robbery by sudden snatching, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and property damage in that case.

Johnson has two felony convictions (non-violent) and a misdemeanor conviction (non-violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in August 2024. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $202,000 on the June charges and added $5,000 for yesterday’s incident.

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.