Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Devonte Bill West, 30, of Brooker, was arrested last night and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, cocaine possession, MDVP possession, and marijuana possession.

At about 8:40 p.m. last night, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies pulled over a pickup truck that had been reported stolen and detained the driver, identified as West.

A probable cause search of the truck reportedly produced a Taurus 740 Slim handgun under the driver’s seat and a “blunt” containing MDVP next to it. A scale, 1.5 grams of marijuana, 1.4 grams of cocaine, and a “blunt” cigar containing 0.5 grams of MDVP were reportedly found in the center console.

Post Miranda, West reportedly said the truck owner’s son had asked him to go to the store and let him take the truck.

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However, when the truck was reported stolen on August 21, the owner’s son reportedly told officers that nobody had permission to take the vehicle.

West has two felony convictions (none violent). He was arrested in June 2020 after borrowing a car and not returning it at the agreed-upon time; when he was pulled over, officers found cocaine, MDPV, and Gabapentin pills in the car. He was charged with four drug felonies, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and driving without a valid license, but all charges except cocaine possession were dropped. He was sentenced to 18 months of drug offender probation but violated probation after a year and spent 114 days in jail before being sentenced to 114 days in jail with credit for 114 days served.

Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $175,000.

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.