Gainesville man charged with bending door of police car while being transported to jail for driving without a license

Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Eddie Deauvghn Johnson, Jr., 44, of Gainesville, was arrested yesterday in Alachua for driving without a license (third or subsequent violation) and then charged with property damage after allegedly bending the door of the patrol vehicle by repeatedly hitting it with his head and shoulder while being transported to the jail.

At about 9:39 a.m. on June 10, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper queried the license plate of a Chevrolet SUV and learned that the registered owner of the SUV had no valid driver’s license. The trooper visually confirmed that the driver looked like Johnson, and when the SUV quickly pulled off U.S. Hwy 441 near NW 126th Avenue, the trooper conducted a traffic stop.

Johnson reportedly told the trooper he had no driver’s license because he did not have insurance on the vehicle. The trooper learned that Johnson’s license was suspended in February 2025, and he has two prior convictions of driving with a suspended license; he also had a warrant for failing to appear at a hearing in Santa Rosa County and a second warrant from Columbia County for failing to appear at a hearing on a charge of driving with a suspended license

The trooper arrested Johnson for driving with a suspended license, third or subsequent violation.

The trooper requested assistance from an Alachua Police Department (APD) officer because he had tried to place Johnson in his patrol vehicle, and he was too large to fit in the vehicle (Johnson is listed as six feet tall and 270 pounds in his arrest report). When the APD officer placed Johnson in the back of his larger vehicle, Johnson allegedly started banging his head against the cage that guards the rear window. The officer reported that as Johnson banged his head against the cage, the entire vehicle rocked from side to side, “making it apparent that [Johnson] was placing a significant amount of force on the window bars.” The officer wrote that he warned Johnson he would be charged with property damage if he damaged the patrol vehicle, but Johnson allegedly continued banging on the rear door.

When the officer arrived at the jail, he left Johnson inside the patrol vehicle “briefly” while he and the trooper waited for assistance from jail staff. Johnson allegedly started banging on the door again and bent the top portion of the door out and away from the vehicle. The officer estimated the damage at about $2,000.

The officer reported that the patrol vehicle’s interior cameras showed Johnson using both his head and his upper shoulder to hit the interior of the rear driver side door.

Johnson has been charged with driving with a suspended license (third or subsequent violation) and property damage over $1,000, both felonies. He has one felony conviction (non-violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he is facing two Notices to Appear for driving with a suspended license, one in Alachua County and one in Columbia County, along with the Santa Rosa County warrant. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $50,000.

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