BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Cody Lee Baumgartner, 31, and Jeffrey Scott Wallace, 37, were arrested last night and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Wallace was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Gainesville Police Department officers responded to an anonymous call stating that Baumgartner, who had an active warrant for failure to appear on a petit theft charge, was at a location in the 400 block of NW 35th Terrace.
Baumgartner was detained without incident and reportedly had a black bag with him. When the bag was inventoried, an officer reportedly found multiple baggies containing a white powdery substance that Baumgartner identified as fentanyl. Another baggie contained 0.5 grams of methamphetamine. The suspected fentanyl was sent to FDLE for testing.
The information sent to officers noted that Wallace typically has a gun, and while officers were speaking with Wallace, he kept putting his hands in his jacket pocket. When asked whether he has a gun, Wallace reportedly said that he did. Officers immediately detained him because, as a convicted felon, he cannot legally possess a firearm. Officers reportedly found a small handgun in his jacket pocket.
In a search incident to arrest, officers reportedly found a clear glass pipe that is commonly used to smoke methamphetamine and 0.3 grams of a white powdery substance that Wallace said was supposed to be fentanyl. Post Miranda, Wallace reportedly said he found the gun lying on the ground while he was walking to work.
Baumgartner’s local criminal history only includes the petit theft charge; he is described as homeless on the arrest report. Wallace has an extensive arrest history going back to 2005 and has six felony convictions; he has served one state prison sentence on a Marion County charge and was released in July of 2022.
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.
