Gainesville man charged with raping 16-year-old girl and firing gun into the air

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jadarius D’shae Powell, 24, was arrested yesterday and charged in two separate cases; one case includes two counts of sexual assault on a 16-year-old victim, and the other includes charges for discharging a firearm in public and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to a sworn complaint filed by a Gainesville Police Department Detective, on August 1, Powell picked up the 16-year-old victim and drove her to an unknown apartment complex on SW Archer Road; the victim described the location of the apartment complex but did not know which one it was. He allegedly took her into a bedroom at the apartment and sexually battered her. The victim said that when he was done, he asked for her cell phone and deleted all the text messages between himself and the victim.

The second alleged incident occurred at Powell’s apartment on August 15, where he allegedly took the victim into his bedroom and sexually battered her. The victim reported that she felt “frozen” during both incidents, and she said Powell told her not to tell anyone about the incidents.

On August 19, Powell reportedly sent a text to the victim asking her if she was pregnant and then telling her to delete the messages; she did not delete the text messages and reportedly showed them to the detective.

On August 21, the victim reported the sexual batteries and was interviewed by the Child Protection Team the next day. The victim reportedly said she was afraid of Powell because she knows he has multiple firearms, and she has personally seen him firing guns in a reckless manner.

On August 17, the victim and two other people were reportedly in a vehicle with Powell while returning back to Gainesville from White Springs; she said he had a rifle in the back seat of the vehicle and fired several shots out of the vehicle from a “small black” gun. When they arrived at the Polos apartment complex, he allegedly fired the same gun in the air. That incident was investigated by Gainesville Police Department after numerous “shots fired” calls were received, and shell casings were collected.

A woman who was dating Powell reportedly told the detective that she had been asleep when she was awakened by gunshots; she said she fell back asleep but was awakened again by Powell, who said he was afraid he would be arrested because GPD officers were collecting shell casings outside the apartment.

Powell allegedly owns several firearms despite being a convicted felon, and the detective reportedly reviewed a video that showed Powell shooting an AR-15-style pistol.

Powell has one Alachua County felony conviction, four Alachua County misdemeanor convictions, and three other felony convictions out of Bradford County. He has served one state prison sentence (concurrently for Alachua County and Bradford County convictions) and was released in May 2023. Judge Kristine Van Vorst ordered him held without bail, 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.