Gainesville Man Out on Bond for Property Damage Arrested Again for Putting Apple Air-Tag on Stalking Victim’s Vehicle

On July 28, Thomas Andrew Ray, 35, was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) and charged with two counts of property damage between $200 and $1,000.  

Ray’s ex and her boyfriend were standing outside their trailer, and Ray drove up to them and yelled, “Pedophile rapist, stay away from my kid.” 

Ray’s accusation appears entirely warranted. The name of “vic 2” in the arrest report is Bhaktivinode Franklin, and he is registered to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Sexual Offenders Search, having been convicted of child molestation in 2012 and sexual battery against a minor in 2019. 

After Ray’s comments, Franklin and the victim noticed several of their vehicle’s tires had been slashed. 

GPD initially responded to Ray’s call, advising a sex offender was at the victim’s residence, and providing Franklin’s name to dispatchers. 

Ray told GPD Officer Thomas Reynolds that he slashed their tires because he was afraid the victim and Franklin were going to move away with his kid.

Ray was released on a $10,000 bond and ordered not to contact Franklin or the victim, not to possess weapons, and to wear an ankle monitor.  

Ray was arrested on Monday by the Alachua Police Department (APD) and charged with stalking and unlawfully installing a tracking device.  

When the victim, a different person from the victim in the previous case, and her mother were in a restaurant, Ray showed up, and they reportedly had a normal conversation. The victim didn’t know how Ray located them and would later find an Apple Air Tag under the front passenger fender area of her vehicle after leaving the hotel. 

The victim’s mother disposed of the device, and the two drove back to the hotel. When they got back, they noticed Ray was following them in a vehicle, so they drove away.

When the victim got back, APD was on the scene with Ray.

Ray told APD Officer Thomas Stanfield that he believed the victim was moving out of state and admitted to placing the air tag. 

Ray reportedly talked to his lawyer while Stanfield was standing next to him and said he’d been “following the victim for 30 minutes.”

Stanfield reported that due to Ray’s continued actions, “these behaviors are escalating and may result in bodily harm or death to others.”

Ray’s bond is set at $65,000.