Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Maurice Marsalis Terry, 40, was taken into custody early this morning after a security guard reported that he was urinating against the side of the Gainesville City Hall building. Police also charged him with trespassing after a warning, unlawful possession of a shopping cart, and resisting an officer without violence.
The incident was reported at about 3:35 a.m. on August 31, when a security guard contacted law enforcement and said Terry was on the City Hall property at 200 E. University Avenue despite having been trespassed from the building earlier that evening.
According to the Gainesville Police Department officer who responded, Terry was found sleeping beneath the ingress/egress port of the City Hall building. When the officer attempted to handcuff him, Terry allegedly resisted by stiffening his arms and pulling them in toward his body.
Officers further reported that Terry’s belongings were inside a Harbor Freight shopping cart. The responding officer noted that he had seen Terry with the same cart during “multiple previous encounters” and reportedly confirmed that Terry is not employed by Harbor Freight.
Terry, who is listed as homeless in the arrest report, faces charges of illegal possession of a shopping cart, resisting an officer without violence, trespassing after a warning, and disturbing the peace through public urination. Court and arrest records show he has three felony convictions, including one violent felony, and three non-violent misdemeanor convictions. He is currently on probation for burglary of an unoccupied structure. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $40,000.
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.
