Staff report

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – High Springs Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard believes the arrest of Adam Webb on May 25 may have prevented violence at Ginnie Springs over Memorial Weekend.

At about 2:26 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, Adam Joseph Webb, 22, was driving through High Springs when he was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper for not wearing a seatbelt. A High Springs Police Department (HSPD) officer also responded to the scene and noted that Webb and his passenger, Ja’khail Naveco Brown, 24, were moving items around in the vehicle. Both the trooper and the officer noted that there was an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and the officer reported seeing marijuana residue in the vehicle.

When the trooper went to the passenger side of the vehicle, Brown reportedly said he had a small amount of marijuana, weighing about 2.9 grams. He also said he had a 9mm pistol in his bag, which was in the center of the vehicle’s bench front seat, accessible to both Webb and Brown.

Both men were asked to step out of the vehicle, and a search of the vehicle reportedly produced a backpack, within reach of both men, containing a loaded AR pistol.

Post Miranda, both men denied ownership or knowledge of the AR pistol.

As a convicted felon, Webb was charged with four counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon (one for each firearm and magazine). Brown was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Webb has one felony conviction (non-violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he is on pre-trial release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and is facing a sworn complaint for theft and property damage. Judge Luis Bustamante set bail at $10,000 for one of the firearm possession charges and ordered Webb released on his own recognizance on the other three charges; Webb posted bail and was released on Monday, May 26.

Brown was released on $500 bail.

Chief Sheppard’s letter about the arrest

In a letter released on May 30, HSPD Chief J. Antoine Sheppard praised the “proactive policing operation” conducted by HSPD, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the Alachua Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol over Memorial Day weekend and reported “a noticeable reduction in traffic volume, which we attribute to the capacity restrictions implemented by Ginnie Springs and the coordinated efforts of a safety committee led by the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office.”

Sheppard said Webb’s arrest was the “most significant incident over the weekend” because Webb was “reportedly en route to Ginnie Springs.” Sheppard described the 2024 incident that resulted in the firearm possession charge after two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon were dropped: “[Webb] allegedly chased a woman from Alachua to High Springs, fired a gun into the air during a confrontation with her father, and fled the scene… We firmly believe that had Webb made it to the Springs this year with a firearm, the outcome could have mirrored the tragic violence we witnessed last Memorial Weekend, when multiple people were shot over the course of two days and innocent lives were lost.”