Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Justin Deon Bing, 31, was arrested yesterday after a deputy stopped him on his bicycle for wearing a mask on a public road; Bing allegedly ran into an occupied unit at Sparrow Condominiums and was later found to have felony amounts of narcotics.

At about 12:28 p.m. on November 17, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy saw a man riding an electric bicycle in the 6900 block of SW 8th Avenue, wearing all black including a black ski mask that covered his face. The deputy noted that Florida Statute 876.12 provides that “No person or persons over 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood, or device whereby any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter upon, or be or appear upon any lane, walk, alley, street, road, highway, or other public way in this state.”

The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the bicycle, and the man got off the bicycle, provided his ID card, and was identified as Bing. The deputy noted that Bing smelled like marijuana, and another deputy asked when he had last used “weed”; Bing reportedly said he had “smoked” earlier in the day.

The deputy instructed Bing to stand in front of her vehicle and put his bag on the hood, but as he was removing the cross-body bag from his body, he allegedly fled into the Sparrow Condominiums complex (711 SW 75th Street) while deputies commanded him to stop.

The first deputy stayed by her vehicle and reported that a man walked past her, stating under his breath that the man she was looking for was sitting on the couch in his condominium and that the man, who he knew as an “associate,” had not been invited into the residence. He gave consent for deputies to search his condominium and confirmed that he wanted to pursue charges for burglary.

Before entering the condominium with a K-9 team, several announcements were made for Bing to come out of the condominium, but he allegedly ignored the commands and was eventually apprehended by a K-9 inside the condominium.

A search of his bag reportedly produced about 2.6 grams of cocaine, about 2.8 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and wrapping papers.

Post Miranda, Bing reportedly denied ownership of the bag and its contents and said the bag belonged to his uncle.

Bing has been charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling, cocaine possession, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer without violence, and wearing a mask on the street. He has two misdemeanor convictions (none violent) and six convictions for driving without a valid license. He is on pre-trial release for driving without a valid license following a September arrest; as part of his pre-trial release conditions, he was required to submit 15 job applications a week until he found a job, and he started a job at a fast food restaurant on October 26. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $56,500.

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.