GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Donald Mervin Small, 59, has been arrested in connection with an alleged burglary at a Gainesville art store. He is accused of smashing a window, taking more than $1,000 worth of merchandise and committing additional offenses involving marijuana, drug paraphernalia and trespassing-related conduct.
A Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Batesy Gallery at 718 N. Main Street on the morning of September 21 after receiving a burglary report. The storefront’s front glass had sustained extensive damage, including a large opening and further cracks in the left panel. The estimated repair cost was $3,950. The gallery, owned by former University of Florida football player James Bates, sells his artwork and clothing featuring his designs.
Investigators also reported that merchandise was missing from the business. The stolen items allegedly included 20 hats worth $40 apiece, eight $30 shirts and a $50 special-edition shirt, bringing the total reported merchandise loss to $1,090. Employees said the store had been locked and secured around 6 p.m. on September 20.
Later that day, Bates reportedly spotted a Black man wearing one of the gallery’s hats. An officer contacted Small, who allegedly identified himself as “Ronald Young.” Small reportedly claimed he had found the hats on North Main Street. He was carrying a bag with seven or eight hats resembling Batesy Gallery merchandise but declined to let the officer search it.
Police reviewed surveillance footage from the gallery on September 22. The video showed a Black man walking through a nearby parking lot during the early morning hours of September 21 before approaching the business. According to the officer, the individual’s build appeared consistent with Small’s.
A GPD detective later told the officer that he recognized the man seen wearing one of the hats and that his name was not Ronald Young. A sworn complaint was subsequently filed charging Small with burglary involving more than $1,000 in property damage, grand theft and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer.
Small also had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear at a June hearing related to a Notice to Appear. That notice stemmed from an allegation that he slept in a stairwell at the Downtown Parking Garage in May. On September 23, the detective saw Small downtown and alerted a uniformed patrol officer that he was wanted.
Officers later located Small riding a bicycle in the 100 block of West University Avenue. When police ordered him to stop, he allegedly rode away. Additional units joined the search, and officers reportedly detained Small in the 200 block of SW 2nd Avenue after his bicycle developed a flat tire.
Police said a search conducted after the arrest uncovered a small amount of marijuana and a device described as a “crack pipe.”
Beyond the burglary-related allegations, Small faces charges of resisting an officer without violence, possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia. Authorities list him as a designated career offender. His address is recorded as the former St. Francis House, and his criminal history includes 24 felony convictions—three involving violence—and 18 misdemeanor convictions, one of them violent. He has served eight state prison sentences and was most recently released in 2020. Judge Adam Lee set bail at $90,000.