Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Byron O’mar Young, 17, of Ocala, has been charged as an adult with discharging a firearm in public and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent after allegedly firing a gun in a parking lot near where two people were murdered on July 30.

According to a Gainesville Police Department spokesman, Young’s arrest is unrelated to the homicides, but detectives learned during their investigation of the homicides that Young had a gun and had randomly fired it several times in a nearby parking lot.

Young was initially booked into a juvenile detention facility, but formal charges have now been filed by the State Attorney’s Office, and he has been moved to the adult jail.

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Young has extensive juvenile convictions, and he is currently on pre-trial release in Marion County on an adult felony charge of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent. Juvenile charges include five counts of possession of a firearm by a minor, shooting into an occupied dwelling, two counts of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, two counts of grand theft auto, three counts of carrying a concealed firearm, grand theft of a firearm, grand theft, three counts of battery, 12 counts of burglary of vehicles, two counts of attempted burglary of vehicles, four counts of petit theft, two counts of resisting without violence, two counts of criminal mischief, and trespassing. He currently has pending juvenile cases in Marion County, along with the pending adult felony case.

Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $55,000, the same amount set by Judge William Davis in his order to charge Young as an adult. Young must also 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.