Reported by Staff Writer
NEWBERRY, Fla. – In a perplexing deviation from the norm, Mark James Owens, aged 53, found himself on the wrong side of the law after he allegedly intruded into a secured area of a Newberry residence under the guise of retrieving water.
The incident drew the attention of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office when a concerned homeowner claimed their surveillance footage captured an unexpected guest. The footage reportedly showed a man breaching the enclosed premises at 10:56 a.m., turning a faucet on full blast, and allowing water to spill onto the ground. Within five minutes, the intruder returned, this time equipped with a gallon jug, and proceeded to fill it with water after leaping over a fence to access the property.
The property’s owner, who was unfamiliar with Owens, indicated they had seen him previously at an adjacent property. Upon further investigation, deputies located Owens standing in the front yard of that very neighboring home.
In a conversation post-Miranda rights, Owens rationalized his actions by expressing that his journey to the stranger’s property was driven by a need to procure water for children at the neighboring residence, asserting they had none. His defensive stance rested on the belief that obtaining water didn’t constitute theft.
Owens, who is described as homeless on the arrest report, has been charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft within a curtilage. He has an extensive criminal history in Columbia County going back to 1990 and was released from prison in October 2025 after serving an 18-month sentence for burglary and grand theft. Judge Phillip Pena set bail at $100,000.
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.