Gainesville Police arrested a UF student early Thursday morning after witnesses said they saw him taking items from unlocked cars in an apartment complex on Williston Road.
David James Borah, 20, was identified by two witnesses as the man they saw entering cars in The Polos Apartments around 2 a.m., according to Borah's arrest report.
The witnesses called police, who arrived to find Borah driving out of the neighborhood, said GPD spokeswoman Summer Hallett. After pulling him over and running a background check, officers found Borah had an outstanding Alachua County warrant for a battery charge.
They searched his car and found wallets, cell phones and sports equipment that officers later confirmed had been stolen from unlocked cars in the complex earlier that night, Hallett said.
Borah was charged with four counts of burglary and three counts of petty theft. After Borah was arrested, Hallett said he "lawyered up" and refused to answer questions. Borah, a third-year student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, had prior trouble with the law.
In the fall, more than 100 students watched as Borah was arrested during an oceanography class on charges of selling cocaine.
Borah is a former brother in UF's Delta Chi Fraternity, but he has not been an active member for at least a year, said fraternity president Joseph Janusz. "I know a lot of guys liked him, and it's just sad that this is what he has resorted to," Janusz said. Hallett said she thinks Borah may have targeted The Polos because it is predominantly a student neighborhood.
"There are a lot of cars, college students may think nobody is going to take their stuff or they leave valuables on the seat in plain sight," she said. "The opportunity is there, and somebody took that opportunity."
