Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have apprehended Darius Julius Stacy, 37, following accusations of vandalizing a vehicle at a Dollar General and stealing $15 in cash.

The incident unfolded around 1:20 p.m. on December 21, when an officer from the Gainesville Police Department was dispatched to the Dollar General located at 2400 SE Hawthorne Road. Upon arrival, a victim informed the officer that while she was shopping, she was alerted by someone that her car window had been shattered by an unidentified individual. The victim reported the theft of three $5 bills from her cup holder, and a large metal pipe was discovered on the vehicle’s floorboard.

According to a witness’s account, a man dressed in jogger pants was seen breaking the car window and rummaging through the interior. The witness noted that the man’s pants appeared oversized, causing him to frequently adjust them.

Another witness identified the man by his last name, Nobles, and mentioned his previous arrest for breaking into a nearby store. Darius Julius Stacy was later confirmed as the suspect responsible for a break-in at the Eastside Food Store at 3423 SE Hawthorne Road earlier in 2023.

The officer viewed surveillance video from Dollar General and saw a man sitting outside the store at about 1:18 p.m. At about 1:20 p.m., the man got up and looked inside the victim’s car window, and then he walked over to a nearby construction site and came back holding a pipe, which he threw through the window of the vehicle. The man briefly leaned into the car, took something, and left. The officer noted that while the man was walking around, it appeared that his pants were too big because he kept pulling them up. The video was not clear enough to see the man’s face.

At about 5:29 p.m., the officer was driving westbound on NE 8th Avenue when he saw a man matching the description of the suspect; the officer noted that the man, later identified as Darius Stacy, was wearing jogger pants and was constantly pulling up his pants.

The officer pulled over and asked Stacy if he would speak with him; Stacy agreed and walked over to the officer, and the officer noted that he was holding a $5 bill in his hand. The officer said the name Stacy gave him “did not make sense,” so he asked if his last name was Nobles; Stacy reportedly said his mother’s last name was Nobles and then provided his correct name.

One of the witnesses positively identified him as the man she had seen breaking into the car.

Post Miranda, Stacy denied ever being near Dollar General.

Stacy has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied vehicle. He has seven felony convictions (two violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2009. In 2024, Stacy was convicted of burglarizing a business and sentenced to probation, but he eventually served 364 days in jail after violating probation. A sworn complaint was filed in 2024, alleging that he stole three vehicles, claimed ownership of them, and sold them to metal recycling companies without the permission of their owners, but the charges were later dropped. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $25,000 on the new charge.

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.