Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Donald Mervin Small, 59, was arrested after authorities accused him of smashing a store window, taking more than $1,000 worth of merchandise and committing additional offenses involving marijuana possession and trespassing.
A Gainesville Police Department officer responded the morning of Sept. 21 to Batesy Gallery, located at 718 N. Main St., following a reported burglary. According to the report, the business’s front window had sustained extensive damage, including a large opening and further cracks in the panel on the left. The estimated repair cost was $3,950. The gallery is owned by former University of Florida football player James Bates and sells his artwork and apparel displaying his designs.
The business also reported that 20 hats priced at $40 apiece, eight $30 shirts and a $50 special-edition shirt were missing. The total value of the merchandise was listed at $1,090. Employees said the store had been locked and secured around 6 p.m. Sept. 20.
Later on Sept. 21, Bates reportedly noticed a Black man wearing a hat sold by Batesy Gallery. An officer contacted Small, who allegedly identified himself as “Ronald Young.” Small reportedly claimed he had found the hats on North Main Street. He was carrying a bag with seven or eight hats resembling merchandise from the gallery but declined to give the officer permission to search it.
The following day, officers reviewed surveillance footage from Batesy Gallery. The video appeared to show a Black man walking through a nearby parking lot during the early morning hours of Sept. 21 before approaching the business. The reporting officer said the person’s build was consistent with Small’s.
A GPD detective later told the officer he recognized the man seen wearing one of the gallery’s hats and said his name was not Ronald Young. A sworn complaint was then filed against Small, alleging burglary with property damage exceeding $1,000, grand theft and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer.
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Small also had an outstanding warrant for missing a June hearing connected to a Notice to Appear. That case involved an allegation that he slept in a stairwell at the Downtown Parking Garage in May. On Sept. 23, the detective spotted Small downtown and alerted a uniformed patrol officer that he was wanted.
An officer found Small riding a bicycle in the 100 block of West University Avenue. When officers ordered him to stop, he allegedly rode away. Additional units joined the search, and police eventually detained him in the 200 block of SW Second Avenue after his bicycle developed a flat tire.
Police said a search conducted after the arrest uncovered a small quantity of marijuana and what was described as a “crack pipe.”
Small also faces allegations of resisting an officer without violence, possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia. He is classified as a career offender, and his listed address is the former St. Francis House. According to the report, he has 24 felony convictions, including three violent felonies, and 18 misdemeanor convictions, including one violent offense. He has served eight state prison sentences and was most recently released in 2020. Judge Adam Lee set bail at $90,000.
Arrest reports are based on information provided by law enforcement agencies. The charges described in this story come from arrest documents and/or court records and represent allegations only. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
