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Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Robert Lavelle Green, Jr., 18, and James Leon Johnson, II, 18, were arrested yesterday after a drive-by shooting at Sweetwater Square Apartments; a third subject was reportedly involved but was not located. Green was charged with resisting an officer without violence, and Johnson was charged with grand theft of a firearm, grand theft of a vehicle, fleeing, and resisting an officer without violence.
At about 1:06 p.m. on Wednesday, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to calls from the area of 3501 NE 15th Street that several shots had been fired from a white Chevrolet Avalanche. Officers found the vehicle on NE Waldo Road and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle reportedly fled at high speed, and officers eventually discontinued the chase. The car was later found, unoccupied, in the 400 block of NE 25th Street.
Officers formed a perimeter in the area and canvassed apartments at Lake Terrace Apartments on NE 26th Street; several subjects were reportedly seen fleeing from the vehicle, and officers ran after them.
Johnson was reportedly apprehended in the 200 block of SE 26th Street, and a firearm was located under him when officers placed him in handcuffs. The keys to the Avalanche were reportedly found during a search incident to arrest. The firearm had been reported stolen in Clay County in 2022.
Post Miranda, Johnson reportedly declined to answer any questions.
Green was reportedly found hiding in the covered porch area of a building in the 100 block of SE 26th Terrace; he was reportedly sweating, out of breath, and breathing hard. Green allegedly walked away from officers, ignoring commands to stop, until an officer stepped into his path. Green has been charged with resisting an officer without violence.
Post Miranda, Green reportedly declined to answer any questions.
Johnson has a juvenile conviction; Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $107,000, with a requirement that he be fitted with a GPS monitor before release.
Green has juvenile convictions spanning 2018 to 2023. Judge Miller-Jones set bail at $2,000, with a requirement that he be fitted with a GPS monitor before release.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
