Gainesville 18-year-old indicted on federal charge of possessing a firearm with an altered serial number

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Devon Oliver, 18, of Gainesville, has been indicted by a federal grand jury charging him with possession of a firearm with a removed serial number. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charge today.

Oliver appeared for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Midori A. Lowry on December 23, 2025, in Gainesville. A jury trial is scheduled for ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­January 28, 2026, at 8:30 a.m., before Chief District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor.

If convicted, Oliver faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

Oliver’s original arrest

At about 1:30 p.m. on October 22, 2025, a Gainesville Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop in Arbor Park Apartments (309 SW 16th Avenue) on a scooter for an unspecified traffic violation; he reported that the rider made eye contact with him and then started running westbound through the apartment complex. The officer told him to stop, but the rider, later identified as Oliver, allegedly turned around and ran eastbound, clutching the right side of his clothing. The officer communicated over the radio that Oliver was fleeing from him while clutching something, which often happens when a subject is carrying a firearm.

The officer eventually found Oliver sitting on the second floor of a stairwell. Officers traced his flight path and reportedly found shoes matching the ones he’d worn at the time of the traffic stop and a 9mm Palmetto State firearm in some shrubs; the firearm had an extended magazine, was loaded with 22 rounds, had purple and white rubber bands around it, and was missing the bottom section of the frame, where the serial number would be.

Post Miranda, Oliver reportedly said he had purchased the firearm from an unknown white man for $1,500 a few months ago. He reportedly admitted to discarding the firearm while he ran “due to the fear of being shot by police.” He said he did not remove the serial number from the firearm but just added the rubber bands.

Oliver, who attends an alternative high school, has a juvenile conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Gainesville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.