Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sam Eric Haywood, Jr., 36, who was previously arrested on July 19, has been charged with stealing a funeral home’s checks in April and cashing one of them.

A Gainesville Police Department officer spoke with a representative from Duncan Brothers Funeral Home who said a business checkbook was stolen from her personal vehicle in April. The victim said a check cashing business had called and asked for authorization to cash a check in the amount of $5,515, made out to Haywood’s co-defendant, Jesse Lewis Gillans, 43. The victim was able to recover the check, and the money was not paid; a sworn complaint has been filed against Gillans.

However, a second check, made out to Haywood for $4,879, was cashed at Amscot on SW Archer Road.

A detective obtained surveillance video and documents from Amscot; the Florida ID used to cash the check came back to Haywood, and the picture in the ID database matched the person in the surveillance video. The signature on the back of the check also appeared to match the signature on Haywood’s ID. Amscot is also a victim in the case because the check was returned as a stolen check, so they lost the money they gave to Haywood.

Haywood has been charged with grand theft and uttering a forged instrument. He was arrested on July 19 and is facing several shoplifting and theft charges, including the theft of $375 in snow crab clusters from Publix.

Haywood has three felony convictions (non-violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (two violent). In December 2024, he entered a plea of nolo contendere in three petit theft cases and one grand theft case, charges with a maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison; Judge Denise Ferrero ordered him released to Drug Court for treatment services in a post-plea diversion program, with the condition that if he failed to abide by the conditions of the program, he would be adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison (charges in one case were dropped as part of the plea deal).

On June 25, a court officer recommended that Haywood be removed from the Drug Court program for failing to appear in court three times and for violating the law on May 12, when he allegedly took small appliances worth $598 from Walmart.

Judge Adam Lee added $20,000 in bail to his existing bail amounts.

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.