GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joshua Austin Bailey, 37, was arrested Monday night after Gainesville police said a traffic stop led officers to a firearm and several concealed knives.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, an officer spotted a vehicle traveling about 46 mph in a 30-mph zone at approximately 8:59 p.m. on September 1. After pacing the vehicle for more than 10 blocks, the officer initiated a stop in the 1300 block of South Main Street.
The officer reported that Bailey was behind the wheel and was the only person in the vehicle. Police said the officer also detected a strong odor of fresh marijuana. When asked for his driver’s license, Bailey allegedly reached into a black book bag on the seat, prompting the officer to order him to stop reaching into the bag and step out of the vehicle.
Bailey reportedly told the officer he had a medical marijuana card and said there might be a burnt “blunt” or “roach” in the center console. The officer confirmed the card was valid, but reportedly determined Bailey did not have any active open orders.
A probable-cause search of the vehicle reportedly turned up the following items:
- A loaded and chambered Taurus G2, two fixed-blade knives with duct tape sheaths, and Bailey’s wallet in the book bag;
- A fixed-blade knife with no sheath between the driver’s seat and the center console;
- A fixed-blade knife/machete with a cloth sheath tucked between the front passenger seat and the center console;
- A THC vape wrapper, THC-P container, and Hemp Cannabis container in the center console.
All of the knives were reportedly concealed from view but readily accessible to Bailey, who reportedly acknowledged that he knows he is a felon.
Post Miranda, Bailey reportedly said the vehicle belonged to a relative, and he added that the book bag also belonged to the relative and the firearm was not his. He said the knives belonged to his son and that his son had been cleaning the vehicle before he drove it; he said his son must have put his wallet in the book bag. He said his son had not finished cleaning the vehicle because his dog urinated and defecated.
Bailey was reportedly unable to explain why there was an unsheathed knife between his seat and the center console; he reportedly said it had fallen there.
At the jail, Bailey reportedly said he had gone camping over the weekend with his son and a woman, and that was why the knives were in the vehicle.
The officer cited Bailey for unlawful speed and charged him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Bailey has two felony convictions (two violent). Judge Lua Lepianka set bail at $15,000.