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Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ernest Rayford Lara Jr., aged 35, has been handed an 18-month prison sentence following his plea of nolo contendere to three felony drug charges, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, along with two misdemeanors.
Lara’s legal troubles began with his arrest on August 11, 2025. This followed the execution of a search warrant at his residence on May 8, 2024, which was initially part of a child pornography investigation. The primary suspect, Joseph Carnes, was taken into custody at that time and later sentenced to two years in state prison, completing his sentence by January 23, 2026.
During the search, authorities discovered firearms, including a short-barreled shotgun in Lara’s room, prompting them to obtain a new search warrant. This subsequent search uncovered a THC wax machine, 47.5 grams of marijuana, 17.5 grams of cocaine, a 9mm pistol, a High Point 10mm rifle, as well as magazines and ammunition. In an attempt to evade an arrest warrant from Orange County, Lara initially provided officers with a false identity.
Lara faced charges for two counts of drug possession with intent to sell, using a property for drug sales, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, possession of drug paraphernalia, and providing false identification to law enforcement. At the time of his arrest, Lara had one prior non-violent felony conviction and two misdemeanor convictions, one of which was violent. He was also dealing with a misdemeanor battery charge in Hernando County.
On January 29, Lara entered a plea of nolo contendere to all six charges; the plea document states that the maximum sentence for the charges is 52 years in prison. Judge James Colaw sentenced him to four concurrent sentences of 18 months in state prison, with credit for 72 days served, for the four felony charges, and he sentenced him to two concurrent sentences of 72 days in jail, with credit for 72 days served, for the misdemeanor charges.