Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a startling incident, 35-year-old Joshua Robert Spirit was apprehended yesterday after allegedly enlisting his 6-year-old child in a shoplifting scheme and later abandoning the child while attempting to evade law enforcement.

The incident unfolded around 4 p.m. on November 10 at the Ace Hardware located at 3727 W. University Avenue. An employee reportedly observed Spirit placing items into a bag held by his young child, who was tasked with keeping an eye out for potential witnesses. The pair allegedly exited the store without paying for the goods, valued at $199. When the employee tried to confront Spirit, he reportedly ignored the attempt and walked away. In a bid to document the incident, the employee snapped a photo of Spirit’s vehicle’s license plate. Spirit allegedly reversed his car, lightly striking the employee, who then called 911 as Spirit fled the scene.

Officers from the Gainesville Police Department later located Spirit outside his Pine Ridge residence. At this point, Spirit reportedly bolted, leaving the child alone. Another officer soon spotted Spirit navigating between apartments on NW 23rd Terrace and instructed him to halt. Instead, Spirit allegedly scaled an 8-foot concrete wall and concealed himself beneath a parked car in a nearby Walmart parking lot, where he was found by a third officer.

The chase continued as Spirit allegedly ran from the third officer, attempting to climb the wall once more. However, with the second officer still on the opposite side, Spirit instead dashed into Walmart’s cart vestibule. The third officer deployed a Taser, and the second officer scaled the wall to assist in apprehending Spirit within the store.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a pocket knife.

Spirit has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, child neglect without great bodily harm, resisting recovery of property by a merchant, resisting an officer without violence, and theft. He has four felony convictions (non-violent); he served one prison sentence and was released in 2013. He was also booked on warrants for violating probation in a 2023 shoplifting case and failing to appear at a hearing in a domestic battery case. Judge Denise Ferrero set bail at $45,000 on the new charges and ordered him held without bail until the probation violation is resolved; the warrant in the shoplifting case had bail of $5,000.

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.