GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 40-year-old Gainesville man was taken into custody early Sunday after a security guard reported that he was urinating against the side of the Gainesville City Hall building. Maurice Marsalis Terry was later booked on several charges, including trespassing after a warning, unlawful possession of a shopping cart, and resisting an officer without violence.
According to law enforcement, the incident unfolded around 3:35 a.m. on August 31 at City Hall, located at 200 E. University Avenue. A security guard contacted police and said Terry had previously been issued a trespass warning from the property earlier that night before allegedly returning and urinating on the building.
A Gainesville Police Department officer who responded to the call reported finding Terry asleep beneath the ingress/egress port of the City Hall building. When the officer tried to handcuff him, Terry allegedly resisted by locking his arms and pulling them tightly into his body, according to the arrest report.
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Police also noted that Terry’s belongings were inside a Harbor Freight shopping cart. The responding officer wrote that he had seen Terry with the same cart during “multiple previous encounters” and reported confirming that Terry is not employed by Harbor Freight.
Terry, who is listed as homeless in the arrest report, faces charges of illegal possession of a shopping cart, resisting an officer without violence, trespassing after a warning, and disturbing the peace related to public urination. Records note that he has three prior felony convictions, including one violent offense, along with three non-violent misdemeanor convictions. He is also currently on probation for burglary of an unoccupied structure. Judge Joy Danne set his bail at $40,000.