Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Damorie Lamontay Miles, 17, has been charged as an adult with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of Oxycodone.

A Gainesville Police Department officer conducted a follow-up investigation of a crash that happened on October 29 in the parking lot of Sweetwater Square Apartments; while viewing surveillance video at the complex, he reportedly saw Miles getting out of the passenger seat of one of the involved vehicles before the crash at 12:37 a.m. After the crash, he reportedly got back into the car, which left the scene of the crash but stayed in the complex.

The officer reported that body-worn cameras of two officers who responded to the crash showed an interaction in which Miles got out of the rear passenger seat of the vehicle and identified himself by name, then walked away, saying he lived in the apartment complex; however, he reportedly did not provide a valid address or apartment number.

An officer at the scene reported that he saw a bag containing two Oxycodone pills in plain view in the vehicle. A further search reportedly produced a 9mm Glock with an extended magazine and 31 rounds of ammunition under the seat where Miles had been sitting. The gun had been reported stolen in May 2023 in Gainesville.

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An officer’s body-worn camera video also reportedly showed an interaction with a witness who said she saw Miles carrying a gun that day and that he’d had the gun “on him” during the crash. She said Miles had moved the gun under the seat when officers approached.

Miles had previously been trespassed from Sweetwater Square Apartments and was on juvenile probation, with an electronic monitor and a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. In January 2020, he entered a plea of nolo contendere to burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and was sentenced to probation.

Miles was arrested on the morning of November 1 and transported to the Juvenile Detention Center. Formal charges of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, and possession of a firearm by a minor under 18 were filed on December 1, and Miles has now been moved to the Alachua County Jail.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $45,000, and Miles has been released on bail.

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.