Story updated: Gainesville police on Monday afternoon revised the number of dogs seized from 16 to 14.
Since 2022, Gainesville residents have pleaded for local law enforcement to intervene and take action against the tenants of a downtown property. On Monday morning, their pleas culminated in the Gainesville Police SWAT team raiding the property and arresting one man on animal cruelty, drug and firearm charges.
Affidavits and complaints submitted to the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Animal Resources had for three years outlined suspected animal abuse. After raiding 516 SW 1st St., in downtown Gainesville, authorities said they found evidence of that and more, which later led to a 13-charge arrest of Christopher Thompson, 54, of Gainesville, on Monday evening.
Search warrant in hand, GPD’s SWAT Unit drove its Bearcat vehicle into the back gate of the site on Monday and detained two men, one of whom was Thompson. Police did not identify the other man, who they later released after questioning.
After taking the men in custody, they found 14 caged dogs and upon closer search, evidence of the warehouse being used as a “drug dwelling,” where drugs are either produced, sold or used.
While both men surrendered peacefully, GPD Capt. Summer Hallett said SWAT was expecting the worst, as Thompson has 24 previous felony arrests — nine of which he was convicted of, including possession and sale of cocaine, assault and fleeing or eluding law enforcement.
“We have to kind of plan for the worst and hope for the best,” she said.
After police detained the men and secured the area, Alachua County Animal Resources arrived on-scene and seized the 14 caged animals that sat in bolted cages around the warehouse.
While the dogs yelped, cried and barked, Thompson and the other man watched handcuffed from the sidelines.
Thompson now faces 13 charges, including animal cruelty, abandonment of animals, cocaine trafficking and possession of firearms as a convicted felon. Upon investigation, authorities also found a sawed-off shotgun and drug paraphernalia.
And while the raid led to an arrest Monday evening, this wasn’t law enforcement's first encounter with Thompson.
Leading up to the raid, GPD and Animal Resources received more than 10 complaints over a three-year time span, all outlining similar things — abused, malnourished pit bulls.
No citations or arrests were issued — only warnings.
Of the 10 complaints, the most recent case brought the issue to GPD Chief Nelson Moya and the city commission.
On Jan. 11, a local Gainesville resident submitted a complaint to animal services citing seven to 10 pit bulls in cages and one tethered to a fence. Four days later, the resident emailed City Commissioner Ed Book demanding an update on action taken against the tenants. In the email, she cited ongoing concerns about the warehouse’s reputation.
Animal resource records showed an officer went to the site Jan. 15 and observed the dogs tethered to a fence with chains and without food or water.
The officer made contact with Thompson, who said he was the owner of the site. Thompson said the dogs were chained according to a veterinarian’s advice because they were eating their wooden crates, causing them to lose weight. He did not provide documentation of the veterinarian visit, according to the officer’s record.
Chewing on items can be normal for dogs, including to help puppies relieve pain caused from incoming teeth, or to keep the jaws of older dogs strong and their teeth clean, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
ASPCA also defines the behavior as possible “destructive chewing,” as is the case when a dog chews things because of hunger, stress, frustration, lack of exercise or mental stimulation.
Later that evening, the same officer inspected the site again but found no dogs present.
On Feb. 5, 12 days before he was detained, Thompson said the concerns were illegitimate. He said GPD visited him the prior week to discuss the dogs, and he wasn’t worried about any legal action.
Instead, Thompson said the issue of the complaints boils down to differing viewpoints, as he thinks dogs should be kept outside and not in a home.
“Half of the people that come by and make the complaints, they just don't agree with the dogs being in cages…or on chains,” he told WUFT. “But that's not abuse.”
Moya later sent the information to Sgt. Charles Owens on Jan. 18 and said, “Can you take a look and see what’s going on here,” according to emails received by WUFT through a public record request.
The next day on Jan. 19, Owens emailed the chief and said he spoke with animal control officers who are “very aware” of the issue.
Former GPD Police Chief Lonnie Scott Jr. and Lt. Steven Bradford were also copied on the email.
In the email, Owens wrote: “There is an accusation of possible criminal violations i.e. simple assault.”
And while they hadn’t observed any current violations at the site, Owens confirmed that animal services also reached out to the Humane Society and asked for its assistance with a special investigator.
Ten days later, GPD Capt. Summer Hallett told WUFT the department’s criminal investigations bureau was actively investigating the matter.
Since March 2022, nine other residents voiced their concern with complaints, affidavits and code enforcement cases, but the pit bulls were still caged.
On June 15, 2022, a resident submitted an affidavit to Alachua County Animal Services which indicated that when she drove by the lot, she saw one of five dog’s kennels labeled with “champion.”
In the affidavit, she said the dogs were “certainly not pets.”
The next day, another concerned person called GPD and said she observed four abandoned dogs on the site. When an officer inspected the site, he found a man named Michael, who informed him that his uncle rents the property and owns the dogs. He said the lot was used to “throw parties and/or work on cars.”
Police later said the dogs were no longer on-site, and there was no need for animal services to respond.
In July 2022, officers responded to a call stating that the owner hadn’t been seen for a week.
Of the four follow-up visits that originated from that call, officers made no contact with the tenant, but made note to try and get in contact with the property’s owner, Jack Carlisle, of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Although the officer’s record stated they would try and get in contact with him, Carlisle told WUFT in January that he was never called. He said Monday that a reporter was the first to tell him of the raid.
“I haven't heard from one law enforcement officer,” he said. “I didn’t know anything either way.”
When he originally started renting out the property to Thompson in 2020, Carlisle said he had only met him once or twice. Since then, he was only aware of the property being used as a car garage and said he knew nothing of caged dogs or potential illegal activity.
