Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Derrick Reng Washington, a 66-year-old resident of Alachua, was taken into custody after a deputy allegedly discovered significant amounts of marijuana and fentanyl in his truck during a routine traffic stop.

The incident occurred around 5:55 p.m. on November 5, when an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over a pickup truck in the Phoenix area for failing to halt at a stop sign. Washington, who was driving, reportedly did not consent to a vehicle search. As a result, a Narcotics Detector K-9 performed an open-air sniff around the vehicle and signaled the presence of illegal substances.

Upon conducting a search based on probable cause, authorities allegedly found “numerous” baggies inside the truck’s cabin and two traffic cones in the truck bed. A plastic bag hidden within one of the cones reportedly contained approximately 1.7 grams of fentanyl and 37.8 grams of marijuana.

Washington now faces charges including possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, using a vehicle for drug sales, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Washington has 12 felony convictions (two violent) and four misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2008.

He is currently in a Veterans Court pre-trial diversion program that began with an arrest for cocaine possession in 2023. The day after entering into the program, which requires him to participate in counseling sessions and submit to urine testing, his urine tested positive for THC and cocaine. Washington reportedly told an official that the cocaine must have entered his system through his hands when he cut up cocaine so he could sell it; he reportedly told a different official that he was cutting up the cocaine for his girlfriend. Although the program was originally supposed to last for 12 months, he has still not completed it, and yesterday’s arrest was reported as a violation of the conditions of that program.

Judge Adam Lee set bail at $100,000.

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.