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Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities apprehended Tabaree Jakeem Lewis, 40, yesterday on an outstanding warrant. Additional charges were leveled after a deputy observed his presence near a convenience store, leading to a vehicle search that uncovered evidence of drug distribution.
On the evening of January 3, around 11:26 p.m., an officer from the Gainesville Police Department spotted Lewis maneuvering a Kia along the 1500 block of SE 3rd Avenue. Following him, the officer noted Lewis’s erratic driving behavior before he parked in a driveway of a residence with which he had no apparent connection. Exiting his vehicle, Lewis was instructed by the officer multiple times to return to his car. Instead, Lewis reportedly moved to the vehicle’s opposite side, discarded substances later confirmed as cocaine, and then fled on foot.
Upon inspection, officers reportedly noticed a baggie containing methamphetamine visible in the car’s center console. This observation justified a further search, which allegedly revealed 24.6 grams of crack cocaine, 28.65 grams of methamphetamine, and 2 grams of MDMA.
As a result, a sworn complaint was filed against Lewis, accusing him of methamphetamine trafficking, evidence tampering, possessing a controlled substance without a prescription, intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and non-violent resistance to an officer.
Judge Robert Groeb issued a warrant for Lewis’s arrest on January 20 and set bail at $475,000.
At about 2:33 p.m. on February 2, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling in the 1300 block of East University Avenue when he saw Lewis standing near his Kia. The deputy activated his lights and pulled in front of Lewis, who allegedly fled on foot; Lewis reportedly ran around the back of the store and circled back to the front, where he entered the Food Max. Two deputies entered the store, and an employee pointed toward an employee-only room; a deputy gave commands for Lewis to come out, and he did.
An ASO K-9 team alerted to the presence of contraband in Lewis’s Kia, and a probable cause search reportedly produced 358 grams of marijuana, packaged in small and large quantities for easy distribution; 3.3 grams of marijuana in another location; 10.4 grams of crack cocaine in the center console; and 35.9 grams of an unknown brown substance that did not test positive for any illegal substance but was packaged in small bags for distribution.
A search of Lewis, incident to arrest, reportedly produced about $1,300 in cash.
Lewis reportedly told deputies that he fled because of his warrant and his fear that he “would be going to prison until he was in his sixties.”
On top of the above charges, Lewis has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a convenience store, maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of selling drugs, and resisting an office without violence.
Lewis has five felony convictions (two violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he was on pre-trial release after posting $60,000 bail after a September 2025 arrest for selling cocaine. He has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2024. Judge Susan Miller-Jones added $200,000 bail to the $475,000 from the warrant.
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.