Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dominique Demetri Merricks, 29, was arrested yesterday for multiple incidents of indecent exposure in local stores.

Around 9:50 a.m. on September 1, at the Butler Plaza Walmart located at 2900 SW 2nd Street, the Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) was informed of a black male who was shadowing a female customer in the store. Upon locating the individual, the LPO witnessed him revealing his genitals and beginning to masturbate. The LPO directed the man to exit the premises, which he did, yet no identification was requested from him. Later, a detective from the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) recognized the person in the surveillance footage as Merricks.

Later that day at approximately 3:14 p.m., an unknown individual reported to a staff member at the 2nd & Charles store at 2601 NW 13th Street about a man engaging in masturbation within the premises. An employee approached the man to inquire if he required assistance, prompting the man to vacate the store.

On September 2, around 11:08 a.m., an employee from 2nd & Charles contacted law enforcement requesting that the same man be trespassed from the location. A GPD officer who responded issued a trespass notice to Merricks and scrutinized the surveillance footage, which apparently captured Merricks masturbating while observing the unidentified person.

Following the examination of the surveillance video, officers proceeded to arrest Merricks and observed a marijuana odor emanating from him. A search conducted incidental to the arrest reportedly uncovered 14.9 grams of marijuana.

Post-Miranda, Merricks allegedly nodded affirmatively when questioned about various instances of masturbation in stores and acknowledged his presence in the video footage from both Walmart and 2nd & Charles.

Additionally, Merricks is confronted with a sworn statement regarding an event on July 23, in which he supposedly exposed himself and engaged in masturbation at Target, although he hasn’t been formally charged in relation to this incident.

Merricks has been charged with two counts of indecent exposure of sexual organs and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He has two felony convictions (one violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2019. He was arrested on July 27 for aggravated battery on a pregnant victim, but the charge was dropped on August 27, and he was released from the jail on August 28. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $6,000.

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.