Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kelvin James Allen, 19, was arrested on February 20 and charged with armed burglary of a residence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; he was on probation following a plea deal for second-degree murder after he was charged with shooting two people when he was 16.

On January 29, 2024, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to a reported burglary in the Pine Ridge neighborhood; the victim said that she had returned home from being out of town and had found Allen and a woman sitting on her couch. She said she had previously dated Allen but was no longer in a relationship with him; she said that when she told him to leave and that he was not allowed in her apartment, he jumped up, screamed at her, and then followed her outside while she called 911. She said that when he realized she was calling 911, he ran back inside, grabbed something, and left. She said she believed he originally accessed the apartment through a window.

The woman who had been in the apartment with Allen reportedly said that Allen had let her into the apartment through an unlocked door, claiming the apartment belonged to his uncle; she said that when he ran back into the apartment, he picked up a firearm that she identified as a Draco, an AK-style pistol.

On January 30, 2024, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies began following up on several local shooting incidents, and a search warrant reportedly produced a “live” video showing Allen holding a firearm in the Pine Ridge neighborhood. A sworn complaint was filed, charging Allen with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and a warrant for his arrest for violation of probation was issued on February 2.

Allen was charged as a juvenile with shooting two people on September 26, 2020, with co-defendant Jerquay Freeman, who is also in the Alachua County Jail awaiting trial in four felony cases after also violating his probation for attempted murder.

Allen was formally charged as an adult with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent. He also faced charges in a second case of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing a weapon into a dwelling. Allen entered a plea of nolo contendere to possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent and one count of attempted second-degree homicide, a lesser included offense; the second homicide charge and all the charges in the second case were dropped as part of the plea deal. Allen was sentenced as a youthful offender to two years in state prison, followed by four years of probation.

He was released from prison in August 2022 and was arrested again in November 2022 after a domestic violence incident. He was sentenced to one year and seven days in state prison, was released in November 2023, and is now serving 30 months of probation.

Judge Thomas Jaworski ordered that Allen be held without bond in both cases; the State Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to keep him in jail pending trial because he previously violated probation and was also arrested in Orlando while on probation, “leading the State to believe there is no reasonable condition that will keep him confined to Alachua County and ensure his presence in Court.”

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.