Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a startling incident near the University of Florida campus, Johnnie Thomas Raben III, a 49-year-old resident of Orange Park, found himself in handcuffs early Sunday morning. He is accused of unlawfully entering a private backyard and allegedly spying on a resident through her windows.
On the evening of August 15, around 11:18 p.m., inside a neighborhood just across University Avenue from the bustling O’Connell Center, two residents were at home when they experienced a moment of alarm. The first resident, stepping out of a shower, received an alert on her phone. Her security cameras had spotted an intruder in their backyard. It was a place hard to access– shielded from public view, requiring one to take a narrow trail beside the house to reach the fenced-off yard, noted a responding officer from the Gainesville Police Department.
Security footage revealed a Caucasian man sporting a loose-fitting shirt adorned with “Cloister” font, paired with shorts, tennis shoes, and black socks. For two to three minutes, the man could be seen loitering, pacing nervously, and reportedly engaging in inappropriate conduct as he fixated on the resident’s bedroom and bathroom windows during her shower.
Authorities later apprehended Raben on NW 3rd Avenue, around the 2000 block, still wearing the outfit captured in the footage, minus the shirt. When confronted, he swiftly put on a baggy shirt, matching the one emblazoned with “Cloister,” aligning perfectly with the description provided by the security video.
Post Miranda, Raben reportedly said at first that he was exercising in the area. He said he lives an hour and a half away in Orange Park, and he had three beers at a bar that evening before parking his vehicle near the victim’s home to “sweat out the alcohol.” The vehicle was later found in the 1400 block of NW 5th Avenue, about a 20-minute walk away.
Raben reportedly admitted to publicly urinating, but he said he was only a few feet from the roadway and had not entered anyone’s property. The officer noted that this violated a City ordinance for disorderly conduct, and a witness is not required to establish an act of indecent exposure under that ordinance.
Both victims reportedly identified Raben as the man they had seen on their security video.
Raben later told the officer he is a handyman who normally stays at a motel near the intersection of Tower Road and Newberry Road, but he did not rent a room for Saturday night. The officer noted that Raben did not have any reason to be in the victim’s area, and Raben does not know anyone in that area. After he was shown the video, Raben reportedly admitted to crossing through the woods into the victims’ back yard.
Raben has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling (for entering the curtilage of the victim’s residence), voyeurism, and violation of a City ordinance for disorderly conduct. He has fifteen felony convictions (one violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), including two previous convictions for indecent exposure. He has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2019. Judge Gloria Walker set bail at $110,000.
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.