Gainesville man with multiple previous convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon arrested for carrying concealed gun

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dwight Jerome Terry, Jr., 30, was arrested late last night and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of marijuana. He was also arrested on an active warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon that was issued as part of the investigation into a March 13 shooting that injured three people.

Last night at about 10:50 p.m., Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers were in the area of 1024 W. University Avenue (near the location of a shooting the previous night) in an attempt to maintain order in a crowd of “hundreds of people.” An officer saw Terry in the crowd and knew he had an active warrant; the officer arrested him with the assistance of other officers.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a 9mm Sig Sauer firearm tucked into the front of his waistband and about 14.2 grams of marijuana.

The arrest warrant was based on a sworn complaint filed by a GPD officer during the investigation of the March 13 shooting. About half an hour after officers responded to the shooting, an officer was approached by a witness who pointed out a man, later identified as Terry, who had a gun.

Law enforcement later received a photo related to the shooting of a man wearing all black, with a black face mask; the informant said the man’s name was “Dwight,” and officers recognized the man as Terry.

On March 16, a witness told a detective that she saw Terry backing up from a crowd on March 13 and pointing a firearm toward the crowd. She said she turned around to avoid getting shot and heard shots fired a few seconds later.

Terry has four felony convictions and has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in February 2021 after serving a three-year sentence on two charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $310,000.

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.