Staff report

ARCHER, Fla. – Christopher Wesley Studemire, 39, was arrested yesterday after deputies investigating a smoke-filled house determined that he had forced entrance into the house.

At about 4:24 p.m. yesterday, Alachua County Fire Rescue and Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call about a possible fire at a home in the 16600 block of SW 134th Avenue in Archer. Deputies and firefighters determined that there was smoke coming from inside the home and that there was a man inside the house.

The man reportedly refused to identify himself despite multiple requests and said multiple times that he owned the home and had purchased it from the bank. Deputies were unable to contact the owners listed in the property records or identify the man in the house, and both agencies left the scene after it was deemed safe.

After leaving the property, a deputy remembered that he had the property owner’s contact information from a previous call for service, and he called the property owner, who said he still owned the house and that nobody was supposed to be inside. The owner said he wanted to pursue criminal charges against anyone in the house.

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Two deputies returned to the property and made contact with the man inside the home, who reportedly continued to refuse to give his name or leave the house. The man was placed under arrest for burglary.

At the jail, the suspect was identified as Studemire.

Studemire, who is described as homeless on the arrest report, has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. He has eight felony convictions (one violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2018. Charges in five cases have been dropped since 2021, including aggravated assault, stalking, aggravated battery, and sending a written threat to kill. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $50,000.

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.