The man facing charges for driving an excavator into a Walmart — and leaving about $2 million worth of damage in his wake — entered a plea of no contest on Monday.
A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison and 10 years probation.
Gainesville police said Jesse Charles Smith, 48, of Trenton, hot-wired an excavator worth $350,000 and drove through several businesses before burying the machine in the wall of the Walmart in Butler Plaza in September. He then abandoned the excavator and entered the Walmart shirtless and holding a machete, according to the arrest report.
Judge William Davis sentenced Smith to 10 years in prison on a first-degree felony grand theft charge. He was also sentenced to 60 months for six additional third-degree felony counts, which will be served at the same time as the 10-year sentence. His prison time will be followed by 10 years of probation with a condition to receive mental health and substance abuse evaluations. Davis said he agreed to a lengthy probation to give Smith a chance to get on the right track.
“It is my hope that you can truly get some help that you need. I don’t know if you’ve ever had that opportunity, but you’re going to have that opportunity when you get out of the Department of Corrections,” he said. “If you're sincere about trying to get your life back together, this is a good opportunity for you.”
During the hearing, defense attorney David Cianci said Smith, “wants to accept responsibility and take what’s coming to him” and that he wants to “not be this guy that made the news, not be ‘Florida man.’”
Smith testified he had a history of methamphetamine use, and that the night he stole the excavator he “just snapped” after breaking up with his girlfriend and only having had a few hours’ sleep in a week.
“I need a program to help me get better so I can see my grandchildren again,” Smith said. “So I can be who I used to be.”
State attorney Celeste Ramirez argued for the 10-year sentence and lengthy probation, saying Smith would not “ever be able to pay” the $2 million in restitution.
Davis said he was impressed that Smith had taken responsibility for his actions early on, but the judge also noted that it was “miraculous” that he didn’t hurt anybody.
The path of destruction began at Watson Construction, from which Smith stole the excavator, according to court documents. Police alleged he plowed into a GRU power pole, storage units at Storage Depot of Gainesville, a fence at Swamp City Fitness and the southern side of Walmart. A Walmart employee called 911 and said Smith was “smashing” the excavator into the automotive section of the store, according to audio of the call obtained by WUFT.
In a separate 911 call, Demetria McBride, a witness of the crash, watched Smith plow into the fence next to Swamp City Fitness, where she was showering when she heard the rumble of the excavator. She kept the excavator in eyesight, relaying information to the 911 dispatcher as it passed through the Walmart parking lot.
“Those are cars,” McBride said. “Those are cars. He’s hitting cars.”
In yet another, a caller watching from the Autozone said, “They’re slamming into the building and s---. Oh my God.”
She followed up with, “He looks kind of crazy.”
The excavator weighed about 72,000 pounds, according to police — equal to the weight of about seven elephants. An employee at the Storage Depot next to Walmart said in a phone call with WUFT the damage to the storage facility was “pretty extensive,” though he said he couldn’t provide any more detail.
Smith completed a court-mandated mental health test in October, which found he was competent to continue to trial in March.
In a request for a public defender in October, Smith wrote he lived at Grace Marketplace — a Gainesville homeless shelter — and not the address in Trenton he listed at the time of his arrest.
Smith has several previous arrests, including for felony thefts. He has been held at Alachua County Jail on a $155,000 bond for 217 days, which will be counted as time served in the total sentence.