While statewide marijuana arrests have dropped, thousands are still arrested. In 2018, about 38,000 people were arrested under marijuana possession charges. By 2020, that number dropped to about 18,000.
Read More »Pride Center of North Central Florida building vandalized
Pride Center of North Central Florida board members arrived Saturday morning to find their building's front door and window shattered. Among the rubble, rocks and a hateful note were found.
Read More »Gainesville man arrested on DUI manslaughter charge
Kevin Elisha Burgess, 49, of Gainesville was arrested Thursday, according to court records. Prosecutors charged him Aug. 25 with felony driving under the influence causing a death and driving without a valid license.
Read More »Teen accused in high school bomb threat re-arrested over questions whether he would attend court hearing to change not guilty plea
A teenager accused of making a bomb threat at his high school last year is back in jail after his bail bondsman learned that the teen was planning to skip out on an upcoming hearing where he will plead guilty, according to court records.
Read More »Criminal case moving forward again for suspect in violent sexual assault of UF student
Antwine Johnson, a 32-year-old Gainesville man, attended a short hearing Wednesday before Judge Phillip Pena for his felony cases involving an alleged kidnapping and rape. On Sept. 20, 2021, Johnson allegedly kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault a woman jogging on the side of the road. The same morning, he dragged a woman from her front doorstep, beat her behind bushes, raped her and stole her phone, leaving her unable to call for help. Later the same morning, he is accused of felony battery of his girlfriend. Johnson was arrested soon after and has been held in jail since. Johnson will appear in court again next week for misdemeanor charges for disobeying the judge’s orders not to contact any of the alleged victims when he tried sending a postcard to his girlfriend. Johnson will appear for a case management hearing on Oct. 26 for the charges of kidnapping, battery and rape.
Read More »Sheriff’s deputies in Ocala arrest second man in fatal robbery during marijuana buy
Marion County Sheriff's deputies said Wednesday they have arrested another man in what they described as a robbery during a marijuana purchase that ended in gunfire on a hiking trail Sept. 12.
Read More »No evidence that widely circulated report is true about fentanyl stabbing near UF campus
Authorities at the University of Florida say there is no evidence that a report circulating across UF’s campus is true, that a young woman was jabbed with a needle and unwittingly exposed to a high dose of the dangerous drug fentanyl. City and university police said they are aware of the report, which is spreading widely over social media and word of mouth. They are trying to identify its origins. The incident purportedly took place inside a popular Midtown bar across the street from campus last week. The bar’s manager and both police agencies said there were no reports of such an attack.
Read More »Police: Car on fire, with only 3 tires driving through darkness near UF campus
Imagine this: A witness called police to report a silver station wagon on fire with only three tires being driven along one of the city’s roads that border the University of Florida campus. When police tried to pull the car over, the driver didn’t immediately stop. Authorities accuse 23-year-old Adrian Vincent Hernandez of Gainesville of fleeing police, resisting an officer and driving with a suspended license. It wasn’t clear whether the driver was missing a spare tire or didn’t know how to change one. Police said Hernandez told them he didn’t stop because he just wanted to get home in the hours after midnight Sunday.
Read More »Snapchat drug ring suspects dodge trial by accepting plea deals
Three Gainesville men accused of operating a drug-trafficking ring using Snapchat avoided trial Monday after negotiating last-minute plea deals. Authorities began investigating the group after a late-night shootout at Cabana Beach — an apartment complex popular with University of Florida students.
Read More »Trial scheduled Monday for Gainesville men accused of using Snapchat to sell drugs
Three of five members of what authorities said was a drug-trafficking ring in Gainesville that advertised the sale of narcotics on Snapchat were scheduled to appear in court for jury selection Monday. Authorities said they first became aware of the group in May 2020 following an early morning shootout at …
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