Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jaquez Equon Wallace, 18, a high school student who has been in the Alachua County Jail since October 24, has now been charged with shooting into a crowd of people outside Dee’s Liquor (1030 SE 4th Ave.) on July 12, 2024, when he was 17.

At about 11:50 p.m. on July 12, surveillance video shows a crowd of people standing in front of the liquor store when gunshots were fired at them from a passing black Cadillac SUV. The shots narrowly missed the victims, who immediately ran. Bullets reportedly hit vehicles in the parking lot, and the investigating detective wrote that it was “obviously apparent that the suspects fired the gunshots in an attempt to indiscriminately kill the victims.”

Using cell phone data, social media accounts, and investigative follow-up, the detective determined that Wallace bought a black Springfield 9mm pistol from his “god mama” for $200 between February and March of 2024 and “numerous” photos and videos show Wallace with the weapon before and after the July 12 shooting.

A black Cadillac SUV was stolen on July 8, and the Cadillac was reportedly seen on surveillance video at Lewis Place Apartments (4121 NE 15th Street) early on the morning of July 9. The detective noted that Wallace lived at Lewis Place Apartments at the time of the shooting.

At about 9:22 p.m. on July 12, the Cadillac was reportedly seen on surveillance video picking up two suspects wearing gloves and hoodies at Lewis Place Apartments; the detective reported that he viewed pictures of the same two suspects, wearing the same clothes, in Wallace’s bedroom.

Video surveillance reportedly showed the Cadillac parking behind Dandy Liquor Store (1300 NE 1st Avenue) after the Dee’s Liquor shooting, with the passenger door open. The next day, Wallace reportedly sent a text to someone, asking for assistance in getting his guns from a location near Wawa (a few blocks from where the abandoned Cadillac was found).

Further evidence tying Wallace to the Cadillac includes video showing the Cadillac briefly returning to Lewis Place after Wallace received a text from his mother, asking him to return to do something for her.

Officers reportedly found 9mm shell casings in the roadway in front of Dee’s Liquor and in the abandoned Cadillac.

After his arrest on October 24 for possession of a Glock switch, Wallace was also charged with shooting into a dwelling at Lewis Place Apartments on September 12, 2024.

The detective in the September 12 case executed a search warrant of Wallace’s apartment on October 7 and reportedly found the Springfield 9mm pistol in his bedroom. The shell casings collected in both the July 12 and September 12 incidents are a preliminary match for the Springfield pistol.

Post Miranda, Wallace reportedly said the pistol is his and he does not let anyone else use it.

Wallace, who is still in high school, has juvenile convictions in 2019 and 2020. He has been in the Alachua County Jail since October 24 on $50,000 bail, with an additional $100,000 added after he was charged in the September 12 shooting incident.

Wallace has been charged with attempted first-degree homicide, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and firing into a vehicle in connection with the July 12 shooting; Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail on the attempted murder charge, pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

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.