Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a recent arrest, 61-year-old Jack Caverly Mason II faces several charges of retail theft, including a violation of a new law that classifies theft from multiple locations within a 48-hour span as a felony. Mason claims he has no recollection of committing the thefts due to drug-induced memory loss.

On December 9, Mason is accused of entering the Home Depot on NW 13th Street, where he allegedly filled a shopping cart with numerous items, including several Dewalt power tools, and exited through the main entrance without paying. While the store could not provide a complete inventory of the stolen goods, it is reported that two identified items were valued at $428, with the total theft estimated to range from $400 to $1,000.

Mason reportedly fled the scene in a gray Mazda. A vigilant Home Depot employee noted the vehicle’s license plate, which led authorities to Mason. Additionally, a detective from the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) mentioned that a colleague from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office recognized Mason from surveillance footage, despite Mason wearing a face mask.

The following day, on December 10, Mason allegedly repeated the act at another Home Depot located off Tower Road. He is accused of selecting various items, placing them into a cart, and leaving without payment. Among the confirmed stolen items were two DeWalt power tools valued at $548 and a bottle of Pine Sol worth $14.98. Although additional items were reportedly taken, the lack of identification prevented the confirmed theft from reaching the $750 threshold for grand theft.

Mason again left the parking lot in a gray Mazda.

On December 14, the gray Mazda was found at the northeast Walmart (1800 NE 12th Avenue), and Mason was reportedly found in the driver’s seat of the car, wearing some of the same clothes seen in the surveillance videos of the two theft incidents. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced two pipes with drug residue.

After he was arrested, Mason was transported to GPD Headquarters for questioning, and post Miranda, he reportedly said he had been “relapsing on drugs real bad lately” and did not remember any of the alleged thefts. When he was shown surveillance video from the two Home Depot incidents, he reportedly said the items might be purchases for his clients, since he is a carpenter. However, the detective reported that surveillance videos clearly showed that Mason pushed the carts out of the store without paying; when this was pointed out, Mason reportedly claimed he had drug-induced amnesia and couldn’t remember the incidents.

Mason has been charged with committing retail thefts from more than one location in a 48-hour period, engaging in a scheme to defraud, two counts of petit theft, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), and Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $35,000.

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.