Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In an unusual incident at a Gainesville hotel, Patrick Alexandre DeSouza, aged 33, found himself in handcuffs after a mistaken bedroom encounter. DeSouza allegedly entered the wrong hotel room, sliding into bed with an unsuspecting guest while on the hunt for a contact from a “cruising” app.
Events took a dramatic turn around 4:50 a.m. on July 26, when Gainesville Police responded to a burglary alert at the Red Roof Inn on SW 42nd Street. The startled guest had awakened to discover DeSouza in his bed, forcing him to physically eject the intruder from the room.
The investigation revealed DeSouza’s misadventure began after connecting with a stranger via Sniffies, a map-based app catering to the curious. DeSouza arrived at the designated rendezvous spot, the Red Roof Inn, only to be ghosted by his would-be date. Lacking a photo for identification, DeSouza roamed the hotel until stumbling upon a room with an open door, which led to his ill-fated bedmate encounter.
The victim recounted being touched on the leg, awakening to the startling presence of a man in his bed. Despite trying to communicate in Spanish to urge the intruder to leave, it ultimately took a physical push to remove DeSouza from the premises.
Another occupant of the room had stepped out of the room to go downstairs, leaving the door ajar, and that person saw DeSouza leaving the room. A security guard at the hotel also confronted DeSouza and said DeSouza only told him that he was there to meet someone, but he did not give the security guard a name or room number for that person. DeSouza reportedly left the hotel before the officer arrived.
Officers made contact with DeSouza at his home, and post Miranda, he admitted to entering the hotel room without consent and crawling into the bed with the victim; however, he said that based on the reaction of the victim, he realized the victim was not the person he was supposed to meet, and he realized his error and left the room and the hotel.
DeSouza, who is listed as a neurosurgery resident on UF’s website, has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling and battery. He has no criminal convictions. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail on the burglary charge, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
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.