16-year-old charged as adult with possession of four firearms, battery on an inmate

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Demetrius Marcell Cowart, Jr., 16, was arrested on March 22 and was charged as an adult on April 6 for four counts of possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent (a juvenile who has been convicted of a crime that would be a felony if committed by an adult). On March 24, he was charged with battery by a person in a detention facility after allegedly hitting another juvenile in the head with a chair while in the juvenile detention facility.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) detectives became aware of Cowart in January 2022, when he was 15 and was stopped with an adult outside Majestic Oaks. During the stop, both Cowart and the adult were allegedly in possession of firearms, and the adult had narcotics. The firearm Cowart was carrying had been reported stolen in a recent vehicle burglary. Both subjects were arrested, but according to the March 2, 2023 arrest affidavit, the State Attorney’s Office was “unable to prosecute” Cowart and had to drop the charges against him.

However, detectives continued to monitor Cowart’s social media accounts because of his involvement with a group, known as YNL, that was part of a racketeering investigation. Several days after the above charges were dropped, Cowart allegedly began posting on Instagram again. On March 5, 2022, he allegedly posted a Story with firearms and was subsequently arrested for firearm possession by an adjudicated delinquent. Two firearms were recovered in that investigation, and one of them was reportedly shown in his social media videos.

Cowart was adjudicated a delinquent in that case on March 30, 2022 and was sentenced to a Juvenile Commitment Program for charges that included armed burglary, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, and firearm possession by a person under 18 years of age.

During his sentencing hearing, Cowart reportedly testified about his gang involvement with YNL. Eleven members of this group were indicted a few months later for crimes including robbery, homicide, firearm charges, and other racketeering activities.

Cowart was released from the Juvenile Commitment Program on February 14, 2023 and was on post-commitment probation with an electronic monitor before his March 22 arrest. After his release, an ASO detective began monitoring his social media accounts again and reportedly saw posts that showed Cowart with several different firearms inside his mother’s home. The detective also suspected that the Instagram account might have been used to sell narcotics.

A search warrant for the home was obtained and was executed on March 22. The search reportedly produced a box of .22 LR ammunition, a Taurus magazine, a Kydex holster, a loaded .22 LR rifle, a baggie containing marijuana, and a digital scale. A picture of the same rifle was reportedly posted on Cowart’s Instagram account on March 20.

On March 24, while being held at the Juvenile Detection Center, Cowart allegedly picked up a chair and hit another inmate in the head. He then allegedly jumped over the victim’s desk and hit the victim multiple times. Cowart was placed in solitary confinement following the incident.

On April 6, Assistant State Attorney Daniel Owen filed formal charges against Cowart for possession of a tan and green Taurus handgun (two counts), a pink semi-automatic handgun, and a Glock handgun.

Cowart has a juvenile history between 2020 and 2023 and is on juvenile probation. The four firearm possession charges and the battery charge have all been transferred to adult courts, and Cowart was moved to the adult jail on April 10; Judge David Kreider set bail at $50,000 for each firearm charge and $40,000 for the battery charge, for a total of $240,000.

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.