Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Javan Malik Smith (aka Javan Malik Young), 23, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for stealing over $2,000 in cash from his employer. Smith, who is on probation in Georgia and told local officials he lives in Georgia, has been arrested three times this summer in Gainesville.

According to a sworn complaint filed in January 2024, Smith was working at the Circle K at 20 NE Waldo Road between October 2023 and January 2024, and the company reported that video surveillance showed him opening the cash register to perform a safe drop. However, before depositing the cash into the safe, Smith would allegedly take part of it and put it in his pocket. Over the period of his employment, Smith allegedly stole $2,125.19 from the store.

Smith was sentenced to three years of probation in Georgia in March 2024 for robbery. On June 18, 2025, he was arrested on I-75 in Alachua County for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and driving without a valid license, but he was released on $10,000 bail, and the marijuana charge was later dropped. His First Appearance Order in that case noted that he had an outstanding sworn complaint for the Circle K grand theft, but he was not booked on that charge.

On July 10, 2025, he was arrested again by his Alachua County probation officer after allegedly bringing a plastic bottle containing a yellow liquid to a urinalysis test in an attempt to falsify the results; he was released on $5,000 bail. His First Appearance Order in that case also noted the sworn complaint for grand theft, but he was still not booked on that charge.

On August 5, a formal charge was filed for the fraudulent urine testing charge, and on August 7, a warrant for his arrest on the Circle K charges was issued; he was arrested on August 14 and booked for grand theft in that case and failure to appear for a hearing on the charge of driving without a license.

Smith has no Florida convictions but at least one conviction in Georgia; his arrest reports show various listed addresses in Gainesville, but he reportedly told Court Services this morning that he had only been in Alachua County for one day and lives in Waynesboro, Georgia. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $25,000 on the grand theft charge and $10,000 for failing to appear on the traffic charge.

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.