Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Early this morning, Maurice Jacquez Johnson, 21, found himself in police custody after reportedly stalking an ex-girlfriend and attempting to break into her apartment.

At approximately 2:32 a.m. on December 21, officers from the Gainesville Police Department arrived at Addison Lane Apartments, located at 4117 SW 20th Avenue. They discovered Johnson standing outside his ex-girlfriend’s residence. The apartment showed signs of forced entry, with a torn window screen and a cracked window, alongside a heavily damaged front door, suggesting that Johnson might have succeeded in entering if the police hadn’t arrived promptly.

The victim explained that she had recently ended her relationship with Johnson, who allegedly followed her and a friend for several hours. According to the victim and her friend, Johnson blocked their car for about 30 minutes after they parked, leaving them fearing for their safety and feeling trapped inside. To escape, they drove across the grass.

Despite their efforts to flee, Johnson reportedly continued to chase them. The victim recounted that they resorted to erratic driving to shake him off. She believed they finally managed to evade him because her phone, which he could track, ran out of battery.

The victim and her friend went to the victim’s apartment after driving around the complex to check for Johnson’s vehicle. They did not see his vehicle, but shortly after they went into the apartment, Johnson started knocking on the door of the apartment.

Johnson allegedly tried to force a window open, but a window lock kept him from opening it more than a crack. He allegedly started kicking the door, causing significant damage, but was unsuccessful in entering the apartment before the officer arrived.

Post Miranda, Johnson reportedly said the victim broke up with him, so he tracked her back to her residence, found her and her friend in the parked vehicle, and blocked them in with his vehicle. Johnson reportedly referred to the incident as “playing” with the victim and said he thought it was a game. He reportedly admitted to attempting to follow the victim and her friend, even after they evaded him. He said that after losing them, he waited in the complex and eventually walked to the victim’s apartment “to return her cat” but admitted to ripping off the window screen before trying to open the window. He reportedly admitted to kicking the door while knocking on it.

The victim’s friend reportedly told the officer she did not want to press any charges for the incident.

Johnson has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling, false imprisonment, and stalking. He has no local criminal history; bail information is currently unavailable.

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.