Gainesville man arrested for claiming to have a gun while trying to rob two businesses

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Johnny Leavelle Beaton, 53, was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts of armed robbery after he allegedly attempted to rob a Subway and CVS on SW 13th Street while claiming to have a gun.

On the morning of April 9, Beaton allegedly went into the Subway at 1805 SW 13th Street, reached under his shirt to imply he had a gun, and told the clerk, “Give me all your money in your cash register.” After the clerk said he could not open the cash register without a transaction, Beaton reportedly left on a white e-bike.

A few minutes later, at 10:50 a.m., Beaton allegedly went to the cash register of the CVS at 1621 SW 13th Street and whispered, “I have a gun, open the register.” The victim, who is in her third trimester of pregnancy, hesitated, and Beaton allegedly reached into his waistband and said, “I have a gun. Don’t think about it. Open the register.” The clerk reportedly gave Beaton an unknown amount of cash from the register, and Beaton left the store.

A responding Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer reviewed video footage from the CVS and saw the suspect leaving the store on a white e-bike with the logo “PEDEGO” on the frame and a dark crate attached to a rack on the back of the bike. The suspect was wearing a blue and orange hoodie. Surveillance video from Subway reportedly showed the same person.

A GPD detective took a still frame from the surveillance video to Pedego Electric Bikes, where an employee immediately recognized the suspect as Beaton; the officer looked him up in the Driver and Vehicle Information Database and found his address at Campus Walk Apartments (914 SW 8th Avenue) and a photo of Beaton in a similar blue and orange hoodie.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from Campus Walk Apartments, which showed a black male, wearing the clothing shown in the surveillance video from the businesses, walking a white e-bike with a crate on the back into Beaton’s apartment at 10:58 a.m. on April 9. Campus Walk is less than a mile from the businesses that were robbed, and Beaton had enough time to return to the apartment after the CVS robbery.

Both clerks positively identified Beaton in a photo line-up.

At 3:22 p.m. on April 9, officers made contact with Beaton at his apartment and arrested him. Post Miranda, he reportedly said he has a crack addiction and needed money. He reportedly admitted telling the CVS clerk to give him the money in the cash register but denied having a gun and denied threatening the victim with a gun. He reportedly said he got $150-200 from CVS and spent all of it on “crack” before returning home.

A search of Beaton’s apartment reportedly produced the white e-bike and the clothing worn during the robberies.

Beaton has been charged with two counts of armed robbery. He has 10 felony convictions (none violent) and 26 misdemeanor convictions (none violent); he has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2020. Judge Jonathan Ramsey ordered him held without bond 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.