GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ryan Jay Gasser, 54, was arrested after he allegedly exposed himself to a group of young women while panhandling at the intersection of West University Avenue and 13th Street.
At approximately 6:10 p.m. on October 13, a Gainesville Police Department officer was sent to the intersection following a report about a man wearing a blue cap, black shirt, shorts and a backpack. The caller said the man was standing in the median, yelling at young women waiting to cross the street. According to the report, the man lifted his shirt and pulled down his shorts, exposing his genitals, then danced while they were “exposed and waving around” in the women’s direction and continued shouting at them.
The officer located Gasser at the intersection’s northwest corner. He was wearing clothing matching the caller’s description and was reportedly dancing and yelling at another group of women.
After being read his Miranda rights, Gasser denied exposing himself. However, he reportedly failed to provide a direct answer when asked whether he had been standing in the median.
A search conducted after the arrest reportedly uncovered a burnt glass pipe. The officer said he was familiar with Gasser and knew him to be “a heavy narcotics abuser.”
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A subsequent search of Gasser’s backpack at the jail reportedly found a small tube containing a white rock. The substance tested positive for fentanyl and weighed approximately 0.01 grams.
Gasser faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, indecent exposure and possession of drug paraphernalia. His latest criminal history was unavailable because records in indecent exposure cases are not made public. However, court records show that he had three nonviolent felony convictions and 10 nonviolent misdemeanor convictions in 2023. A court document from April 2023 described him as homeless. His Alachua County record also includes multiple trespassing arrests in 2006 and 2007, along with two panhandling arrests in 2011.
Judge Susan Miller-Jones set Gasser’s bail at $52,000.