Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Decedrick Savalas Presley, Jr., 23, was arrested overnight after allegedly leaving his GPS monitor in the woods in May 2022; at the time, he was out on bail after reaching a plea agreement in mid-April 2022 and was awaiting sentencing.

Presley was arrested in September 2021 for “numerous” burglaries; many items were reportedly recovered from a pawn shop and from his apartment after a search warrant was approved. Over the next few months, charges were filed in 13 cases. Presley posted bail on April 6, 2022, and signed a plea agreement in seven cases on April 14, 2022. The plea agreement is handwritten and difficult to read but appears to call for a little over 6.5 years in state prison, followed by 7 years of probation, along with various amounts of restitution payments to victims. Presley was scheduled to appear in court on May 5, 2022, to be sentenced in those seven cases.

On April 15, 2022, a relative wrote a letter to the judge in the case, describing Presley as “very reserved, quiet, timid, respectful, and appreciative.” The letter said Presley had “never been in trouble before” and was “terrified [of going to prison] and I could bet my life that he’d never commit another crime.” The relative offered to bring Presley to live with her and provide him with a job and volunteer work. She asked the judge to give Presley probation.

However, on May 5, 2022, Presley’s GPS monitor was found in the woods behind the Burger King in Alachua, and a warrant was issued for his arrest; he remained free until he was arrested early this morning.

Presley, who is described as homeless in court documents, has no local convictions except for the seven cases awaiting sentencing (because the final hearing has not been held, he has not been adjudicated guilty in those cases); court documents indicate that he was also arrested in Missouri in 2023. He has four pending felony cases on top of the seven cases awaiting sentencing. He is being held without bond in the seven cases (24 charges) that were awaiting sentencing when the GPS monitor was found. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $50,000 for tampering with a GPS device and $2,000 on an additional charge of petit theft; Presley has not yet been booked on the four pending felony cases.

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.