A Gainesville man was charged in connection to a June 25 Alachua shooting due to the combined efforts of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the High Springs Police Department, Gainesville Police Department, and Alachua Police Department.
Thaddeus Mark Surrency, 43, was arrested by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on Friday after the man who was shot identified Surrency in a photo lineup, according to a police report.
The man who was shot told police he and two passengers were approached by a white Ford station wagon, later found to be registered to Surrency’s wife, at the Waffle House located at 15979 NW U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua. The driver of the Ford parked two spots away. According to the report, several people walked back and forth between the vehicles before both drove to the second location at Northwest 147th Lane.
The man told police he recognized Surrency when he arrived at the second location. Surrency pulled out a gun, demanded all of his money and fired three shots toward the man, which struck near his heart and broke his elbow.
In an attempt to escape, the man accelerated his car down the driveway and into a wooded area where he crashed the vehicle. The man got out of his car, and Surrency took the $600 out of his back pocket, according to the report.
While on patrol of the area, law enforcement identified a white Ford station wagon in the backyard of a home in High Springs. A woman staying at the home told police Surrency had been there earlier in the day and instructed her to retrieve a red rag from under the seat of the car and “hide it for him,” according to the report.
During investigation, police found a pink and silver .38-caliber revolver wrapped in a red rag in the car.
Surrency was located in a home in Gainesville Friday afternoon. At approximately 2:30 p.m., he came out of the apartment and was arrested without incident. He was charged with aggravated battery and robbery with a firearm, both felonies. Surrency remains in jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.
