Authorities arrested a Gainesville man and are in pursuit of a second who allegedly stole and tried to sell about $2,000 worth of game consoles and electronics.
Yolandus Alexander Whittle II, 19, and Lilquis Martavis Johnson, 20, supposedly robbed at least four Gainesville Place apartments in June, according to an arrest report.
Authorities said Whittle was arrested Tuesday in the area of 2300 Southwest Archer Rd while attempting to steal from multiple cars. As of Thursday morning, officials have yet to book Johnson into the Alachua County Jail.
Police wrote they found pictures of the reportedly stolen items on Whittle’s phone, but he didn’t take the blame. Instead, Whittle told authorities that Johnson took the photos and listed the items for sale, claiming he didn’t have a phone or Facebook account of his own.
However, according to the arrest report, a Facebook account linked to Whittle held hundreds, if not thousands, of messages between him and Johnson, including various references to the sale of the devices after the burglaries.
Property management at Gainesville Place allegedly tried to evict Johnson’s supposed girlfriend from her apartment there as she allowed him to cohabit illegally, according to the arrest report. Johnson allegedly lived on the couch for a month and was suspected of stealing from her and other residents nearby.
One woman told police she saw Johnson and Whittle, who also allegedly lived there as well, bring and use game consoles in the apartment, according to the arrest report.
Police reported the thefts occurred for a little more than a week and were seemingly performed the same way each time: entering through an unlocked front door and taking electronics from the common areas and bedrooms, according to the arrest report. This includes, but is not limited to, a record player, iPhone, speaker, television.
Roughly two weeks later, Nintendo delivered the IP address of a stolen Switch console. According to the arrest report, the device was activated less than an hour after it was stolen, similarly to the IP address of a Playstation console was also activated less than four hours after it was stolen.
Whittle is currently being held at the Alachua County Jail on a bond of $82,000 on multiple charges of burglary and grand theft.
