Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Lonnie Paul Griffin, Jr., 24, has been charged with arson, drug possession, and trespassing after allegedly setting a fire in a dumpster behind a business.

A Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a call about a fire in a dumpster behind Five Below at 2613 NW 13th Street at about 9:20 p.m. last night. A representative of the business reported that Griffin could be seen on surveillance video, climbing in and out of a dumpster behind the store; the video reportedly showed Griffin reaching into the dumpster after he climbed out, then walking away. As he walked away, smoke could be seen billowing out of the dumpster, which then caught on fire.

The officer made contact with Griffin a few blocks away, at a property where he had previously been trespassed. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced about a gram of MDPV.

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Griffin was last arrested on October 25, and he pled to trespass after warning at his first appearance with Judge Thomas Jaworski, with a sentence of two days in jail with credit for two days served; he also entered into a payment plan for fees of $276.

Griffin, who is described as homeless in court records, has a juvenile criminal history, one adult felony conviction (one violent), and four adult misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he served a state prison sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon out of Volusia County and was released on March 30, 2023. Judge Walter Green set bail at $35,000.

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.