Man charged with stealing donations, liquor

Police arrested a man in the early morning hours of Tuesday after, they say, he stole a donation jar and a bottle of liquor from the Moose Lodge in Alachua.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Alachua Police Department (APD) Officer Donald Parks and K9 Officer Cesar Vargas went to the Moose Lodge at 14212 NW 154^th Avenue in response to a complaint of a possible burglary, Lieutenant Patrick Barcia said.  It was there that the officers found 51-year-old James Ray Tubbs fleeing the building carrying several items according to a report.  Enlisting the help of his K9 Kaiser, Officer Vargas was able to apprehend Tubbs.

Barcia said Tubbs was caught with a tip jar used by the Moose Lodge for donations to various charities along with a bottle of whiskey.  That jar reportedly contained less than $50.  Tubbs attempted to take another bottle of liquor from the lodge but apparently dropped it as he fled the scene, Barcia said.

Tubbs, of NW 158^th Place in Alachua was checked by medical staff after being bitten and caught by the police dog.  He was then booked into the Alachua County jail on charges of burglary, petit theft, criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence.

Tuesday didn’t mark Tubbs’ first run-in with the law.  He was charged with burglary in 2000 for which he was sentenced to 10 years.  In 1997 he was charged with trafficking in stolen property, and in 1999 with possession of cocaine.  Tubbs was sentenced to less than three years for each of those charges, and served nearly eight years in total.  He was released from custody on Feb. 13, 2009.

Tubbs remains in the Alachua County jail on a $16,000 bond.