Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jacoby Uriah Emmanuel Anderson, 33, has been taken into custody following accusations of breaking into his former workplace to steal cash and a phone. The business’s manager also reported several missing iPads.

Authorities allege that on March 19, Anderson gained entry to Luke’s New York Bagels, located at 620 S. Main St., by climbing through a window. Once inside, he reportedly stole $115 from the cash register.

The following day, on March 20, a Gainesville Police Department officer apprehended Anderson as he attempted to enter a pawn shop. At the time of his arrest, Anderson was allegedly trying to pawn an iPad.

Further investigation into Anderson’s recent pawn shop transactions revealed he had sold a brand-new $800 Samsung Galaxy phone for just $40 on March 10. The pawn shop manager noted that Anderson is a regular customer.

The phone in question contained contact information for the manager at Luke’s New York Bagels. This phone had been utilized for taking orders at another store location in Gainesville, situated at 150 NW 6th St. The manager reported it missing on January 31, but all employees, including Anderson, denied any knowledge of its disappearance.

The manager told a police officer that between seven and nine iPads have gone missing from the store recently; these iPads were in a storage compartment because they were no longer in use. The manager told the officer that he would find the serial numbers of the iPads to see if one of them was the iPad Anderson was trying to pawn when he was arrested.

Anderson has been charged with dealing in stolen property, burglary, grand theft, and providing false information on a pawn form. He is a designated Violent Felony Offender of Special Concern and has 11 felony convictions and six misdemeanor convictions; he has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2018.

In November 2025, after he was arrested for his second violation of probation in a 2024 battery case, Anderson wrote in a letter to Judge David Kreider, “I’m not a bad person, I just made some bad decisions in my past… I admit that I was in violation and that I made a mistake that I sincerely apologize for. It won’t happen again. I am a born again believer in Jesus Christ and I have changed my ways tremendously… I am able to follow the rules and regulations of society and I’m asking for a second chance to prove that I am able to do so.” On December 9, 2025, Judge Kreider sentenced him to 28 days in jail with credit for 28 days served.

Judge Sheree Lancaster set bail at $50,000 on the new charges.

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.