Convicted felon arrested for trafficking and other drug charges

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fredrick Tyrone Perryman, 51, was arrested yesterday after officers reportedly watched him making multiple hand-to-hand drug sales and found almost 500 grams of cocaine in a search of his vehicle.

A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that he first observed open-air drug sales at a property in the 1600 block of NE 9th Avenue while working a call for service in the area, and he conducted periodic surveillance of the area for several weeks. The officer reported that the property was quiet in the mornings, and then a brown Audi SUV would arrive between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., and “subjects that were selling illegal narcotics” would sit in the yard of the property.

The officer reported that over the course of the day, as people arrived at the property, someone would go to the vehicle or someone would get out of the vehicle and walk to the edge of the property; the interactions were reportedly brief, lasting only a few seconds.

On March 5, two officers conducted surveillance on the property and saw “numerous” people arrive on foot, on bicycles, and in vehicles; these individuals would approach the property, vanish out of sight for a short period of time, and quickly leave. When these individuals left, they were often holding cash or suspected narcotics in their hands.

At about 10 a.m., a silver Toyota SUV stopped in front of the property, and a black male walked out, leaned into the vehicle, and extended his arm; the officer reported that he believed the male was placing narcotics in the driver’s hand. The officers reportedly took pictures of the transaction and noted that the same black male was suspected of being one of the main drug dealers in the area. About a minute later, the silver SUV drove away.

A traffic stop was conducted on the silver SUV, and a K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle; a probable cause search of the SUV reportedly produced two small pieces of a white rock-like substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Several officers went to the property and reportedly saw the black male, later identified as Perryman, standing at the rear of a brown Audi SUV, speaking with another person. The trunk of the Audi was open, and Perryman reportedly had a large stack of cash in his hand.

The officer told Perryman to stop, but Perryman allegedly closed the trunk of the SUV and ran toward the residence on the property; when he got to the screened front door, he stopped and was detained. The officer reported that Perryman had $494 in small-denomination bills when he was detained.

The resident of the property reportedly provided consent to be on the property while conducting the investigation.

Post Miranda, the officer showed Perryman a photo from his interaction with the silver SUV, and Perryman reportedly said, “That’s a picture of me” without being prompted.

A K-9 alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics in the Audi, and a probable cause search reportedly produced:

• 89.4 grams of crack cocaine, individually packaged for sale
• An electronic scale with half a crack cocaine “cookie” on it
• 69.9 grams of marijuana, packaged for sale in 24 baggies
• 283.2 grams of marijuana in a large clear bag
• Empty sandwich bags
• 276.1 grams of crack cocaine “cookies”
• 199.7 grams of powder cocaine
• $1,717 in cash in various denominations in the center console
• $1,080 in cash in Perryman’s wallet

The search reportedly produced a total of 491.5 grams of cocaine and 352.2 grams of marijuana.

Perryman was later arrested on March 18.

Perryman has been charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of selling drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer without violence. He has two felony convictions (non-violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2022. Judge Adam Lee set bail at $800,000.

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.