Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joel Antonio Vazquez, 19, and Oscar Nathaniel Wright, Jr., 56, were arrested yesterday after Vazquez, who is on probation, allegedly stole a handgun from the glove compartment of a car he was detailing and sold it to Wright, who allegedly knew it was stolen.

Vazquez, who was working for a car detailing company, was reportedly cleaning the victim’s car at BMW of Gainesville, 2853 N. Main Street, when he noticed a Ruger LCP2 .380 in the glove compartment and allegedly stole it. The gun’s value is estimated at $400.

A Gainesville Police Department investigation found that Vazquez took the gun to the house of a witness, and the witness reportedly gave him $100 to give to the owner of the gun “in order for him not to get in trouble.” Vazquez reportedly returned to the dealership and offered the $100 to the victim, but the victim reportedly refused the money and demanded that his gun be returned. However, when an officer contacted the witness, the witness reportedly said he was never given a gun by Vazquez.

Post Miranda, Vazquez reportedly admitted taking the gun to kill himself.

After arresting Vazquez, officers went to the house of the witness in an attempt to locate the gun and made contact with the witness, who said Wright had the gun and called Wright back to the house. The witness reportedly told the officer that Vazquez had brought the gun to his house in an attempt to sell it, but he wanted no part of buying a stolen gun. He said Wright offered to buy the gun and that he saw Wright give Vazquez $100 in exchange for the gun. The witness also reportedly said that Wright was told that the gun was stolen.

The officer reported that as he approached Wright, he heard something drop to the ground and found a handgun on the ground nearby.

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Post Miranda, Wright reportedly said he had learned that Vazquez had stolen a gun from work and wanted to sell it, so he gave him $100.

A search of Wright, incident to arrest, reportedly produced 0.5 grams of cocaine.

After arresting Wright, an officer re-interviewed Vazquez, and post Miranda, he reportedly said that after he stole the gun, he decided he didn’t want it anymore, so he went to the house of the witness and gave the gun to him. He said that when he got back to work, he was confronted about stealing the gun by other employees, so he went back to get the gun, but the witness said the gun had been given to someone else. He said the witness gave him $100 to give back to the victim in an attempt to repay him.

Vazquez has been charged with grand theft of a firearm and dealing in stolen property. He was charged in 2022 with stealing an $1,800 hunting bow from a vehicle; he entered a plea of nolo contendere to two felony charges in October 2023 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation, with adjudication of guilt withheld; he has been re-arrested in that case. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail for violating probation and set bail at $35,000 on the new charges.

Wright reportedly told the arresting officer that he is a convicted felon in Georgia; he has two misdemeanor convictions in Florida, with the most recent in 1992. He has been charged with dealing in stolen property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and cocaine possession. Judge Miller-Jones set bail at $85,000.

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.