High school student arrested for possession of a firearm with an altered serial number

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Devon Z. Oliver, 18, was arrested yesterday and charged with possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, and resisting an officer without violence.

At about 1:30 p.m. on October 22, a Gainesville Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop in Arbor Park Apartments (309 SW 16th Avenue) on a scooter for an unspecified traffic violation; he reported that the rider made eye contact with him and then started running westbound through the apartment complex. The officer told him to stop, but the rider, later identified as Oliver, allegedly turned around and ran eastbound, clutching the right side of his clothing. The officer communicated over the radio that Oliver was fleeing from him while clutching something, which often happens when a subject is carrying a firearm.

The officer eventually found Oliver sitting on the second floor of a stairwell. Officers traced his flight path and reportedly found shoes matching the ones he’d worn at the time of the traffic stop and a 9mm Palmetto State firearm in some shrubs; the firearm had an extended magazine, was loaded with 22 rounds, had purple and white rubber bands around it, and was missing the bottom section of the frame, where the serial number would be.

Post Miranda, Oliver reportedly said he had purchased the firearm from an unknown white man for $1,500 a few months ago. He reportedly admitted to discarding the firearm while he ran “due to the fear of being shot by police.” He said he did not remove the serial number from the firearm but just added the rubber bands.

Oliver, who attends an alternative high school, has been charged with possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent (the equivalent of a felony conviction for a juvenile), possessing an altered firearm, and resisting an officer without violence. He has a juvenile conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, and Judge Adam Lee set bail at $105,000.

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.