Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have arrested 40-year-old Andrew Stephenson Wise on two separate occasions, October 18 and October 24, amid allegations that he was trailing female college students to their cars and attempting to enter the vehicles.
The first incident occurred around 9:47 p.m. on October 18th when a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to an emergency call at the Holiday Inn located at 1250 W. University Avenue. Upon arrival, the officer found hotel and restaurant guests evacuated outside due to a fire alarm activation. Witnesses claimed that Wise had pulled the alarm without cause and was also seen shouting threats and striking vehicles in the parking lot.
Wise was subsequently taken into custody on charges of disorderly conduct and false fire alarm activation. Despite having no prior criminal record, he was known to have a protective injunction from another state. Judge James Colaw set his bail at $5,000, which Wise posted, leading to his release from the Alachua County Jail on October 19.
In a separate incident at approximately 3:00 a.m. on October 24, GPD officers kept an eye on Wise following reports of him shadowing female college students and attempting to enter their vehicles, allegedly mistaking them for his own ride home.
Officers reportedly observed Wise behaving suspiciously in an alley behind a row of closed businesses in the 1700 block of West University Avenue. He was seen moving between vehicles before disappearing from view. Officers checked the business doors in the vicinity and confirmed they were all securely locked.
About an hour later, a University of Florida Police Department officer notified GPD that Wise had been found sleeping inside a business on the same block. The front door of the business was locked, but an officer found that the rear door was unlocked and cracked open.
At first, Wise reportedly said nobody gave him permission to be inside the business, but at the jail, he said his friend “Mr. G” works at the business and told him he could go inside. An officer called “Mr. G” from Wise’s phone, but the person who answered reportedly said he does not work at the business.
The arresting officer noted that Wise has had “recent numerous law enforcement contacts,” including the fire alarm incident, “numerous” trespass warnings, and an increasing behavior of following women to their vehicles and trying to open their car doors. The officer wrote, “Now, with [Wise] being inside of a closed business, [he] couldn’t dispel my fear that he would not continue engaging in criminal activity in the area.”
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced 1.6 grams of pre-rolled marijuana; Wise reportedly does not have a medical marijuana card.
Wise was arrested and charged with loitering/prowling and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $20,000.
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.
