Gainesville man sentenced to 90 days in jail for drug and gun charges

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Colin R. Jefferies, 30, was sentenced today to 90 days in jail and two years of drug offender probation, with adjudication of guilt withheld, on charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jefferies was arrested on I-75 on August 30, 2022. He was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper for following too closely, and the trooper saw marijuana residue and smelled marijuana when he made contact with Jefferies.

A probable cause search reportedly produced 4 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags and a revolver that had been reported stolen out of Volusia County. The revolver was readily accessible to Jefferies inside the car.

Jefferies posted $125,000 bail the next day. Today, he entered a plea of nolo contendere to the four charges listed above; two of the original charges–possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and theft of a firearm–had previously been dropped. The maximum sentence for the charges is 26 years in state prison.

A sworn complaint was also filed against Jefferies on October 26, 2022, charging him with money laundering after he was pulled over for following too closely and a probable cause search reportedly found over $9,000 in cash, banded into “quick count” bundles. Detectives also reportedly located text messages on his phone that appeared to arrange a drug transaction.

In exchange for Jefferies’ plea in the August case, the October case will be dropped and adjudication of guilt will be withheld in the August case. Jefferies will spend 90 days in the Alachua County Jail with credit for two days of time served and then will serve 24 months of drug offender probation. He will forfeit the revolver and will pay standard court and investigation costs.