Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Robert Lavon Cray, 43, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing $1,400 from a safe at Keke’s Breakfast Cafe on his first day of work.

Cray reportedly started work at the restaurant on Monday, and an employee of the restaurant told a Gainesville Police Department Officer that Cray was left unattended inside the office, where the safe is located. She said she learned at the end of her shift that the safe was short $1,400. She said she checked the business cameras Tuesday morning and saw Cray taking money out of the safe. She said she confronted him when he showed up for work on Tuesday and that he left when she said she was calling the police.

An officer found Cray a short distance away. Post Miranda, Cray reportedly said he saw that the safe door was open and told the employee it was open because he did not want to be accused of taking money. He denied taking any money from the safe.

Cray has 11 felony convictions (two violent) and eight misdemeanor convictions (none violent). He has served five state prison sentences for convictions out of Alachua, Columbia, and Suwannee Counties, with his most recent release in June 2022. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $1,000, with a requirement for a GPS monitor upon release.

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.