Staff report

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Edwin Lee Daniels, 18, was arrested last night and charged with two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by an individual previously convicted as a juvenile of a crime that would be a felony in an adult.

At about 9:30 p.m. last night, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of an intoxicated man inside the Dollar General store in Newberry; the caller said the man had a handgun in his waistband and an extended magazine in his pocket.

A deputy reported that Daniels, who matched the description provided by the caller, was standing outside next to the ice machine when he arrived. The deputy asked Daniels where the gun was, and Daniels reportedly said he did not have a gun but had a “clip” in his pocket.

The deputy reportedly found an extended magazine with 27 rounds of 9mm ammunition in Daniels’ rear pocket and detained him. He then searched Daniels and did not find a gun but reportedly found another round of 9mm ammunition in Daniels’ pocket.

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When additional deputies arrived, another deputy searched the area around the ice machine and reportedly found a Taurus 9mm pistol behind the ice machine.

While deputies were conducting their investigation, a family member of Daniels arrived and reportedly said she had seen Daniels with the gun in her home the previous night and had told him he needed to get rid of it. She said she had seen Daniels with the gun again today and believed he took it with him when he left the house to go to the Dollar General.

Daniels has a juvenile conviction from 2020 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and he had a warrant for failing to appear at a hearing on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license.

Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

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.