Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Timothy Booker Lancaster, 33, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for burglary after allegedly running from officers responding to a call about a man lying on a sidewalk on campus.

At about 3:41 p.m. on April 5, University of Florida Police Department Officers responded to a call about a man lying on the side of Cypress Hall and smoking; the caller said he had asked the man to leave, and the man refused. The man was described as shirtless and wearing black and yellow pants.

The officer reported finding Lancaster, who matched the description, sitting on the sidewalk on SW 13th Street near Cypress Hall. An officer asked how he was and said people were concerned about him; the man reportedly said he was trying to get a ride and wondered why there was no cab service. The officers identified the man as Lancaster and learned that he had a warrant for his arrest.

When the officers informed Lancaster that he had a warrant and asked him to stand up, he allegedly ran across four lanes of traffic on SW 13th Street toward Norman Field and then into Garage 8. A third officer arrived and told Lancaster to get on the ground, and Lancaster complied and was arrested.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced three iPads, two cell phones, a Nintendo Wii, identification cards in other names, and about $1,300 in cash. These items were placed into evidence.

The officers also learned that Lancaster had been trespassed from all UF properties since 2022 and that there was video footage showing him lying on the ground next to Cypress Hall.

Lancaster has been charged with trespassing after a warning and resisting an officer without violence. He was also booked on a warrant for attempting to break in to Mini Maid (1831 NW 12th Terrace) in November 2024 and stealing items from one of their vans. He is also facing a sworn complaint from February for shooting himself in the hand in a tent near GRACE Marketplace and then calling 911 to say someone shot him and tried to rob him in a different location.

Lancaster has six felony convictions (none violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in September 2024.

Judge Mitchell Bishop set bail at $10,000 on the new charges on top of the $100,000 from the warrant.

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.