Juvenile arrested with stolen gun five days after being released on his own recognizance

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Noah Rafael Hayes, 17, was arrested last night for the second time in six days; Hayes is on probation from a December 2020 burglary charge, in which he was adjudicated guilty as an adult. He was arrested again on February 12, 2022, on another burglary charge and released on his own recognizance the next day. The most recent arrest, late last night, was on charges of possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, grand theft of a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

According to the arrest report, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over a car at about 8:45 p.m. last night on SE 43rd Street near Eastside High School because the headlights were off. The driver was unable to produce a driver’s license and gave oral consent to search the vehicle, reportedly stating that he had recently been smoking marijuana in the vehicle.

The deputy reported finding part of a cigar that smelled like marijuana. He also reported finding a handgun under the driver’s seat, within reach of the driver. The driver, identified as Hayes, denied that the handgun was his. The deputy found that the gun had been reported stolen in a Gainesville Police Department case.

Hayes has been charged with possession of a firearm by a delinquent felon, grand theft (for the stolen gun), and possession of a concealed firearm without a permit. He was not charged with driving without a license or any drug possession charges (Hayes has two previous cases in which adult charges of driving without a license were filed but later dropped). He is being held on $85,000 bail.

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. 

  • Since some city/county leaders are looking to rename things in our community I think they should start with Gainesville.

    It should be renamed Crimesville. We have the crime, the grime, the slime and for some reason, people found guilty rarely do the time.

    • Nice rhyme…is Rodney Long still a bondsman? They
      Shouldn’t ROR anyone who gets arrested in Alachua
      county so he could pay back those loans…

  • His parents/ parent/or legal guardian should be locked up with him. These gangsta influenced kids are simply copying what they see and hear.

    • Agreed. It’s also the ACSB’s fault. They should implement
      A dress code. Go back to teaching with real books and
      Chalkboards. No cell phones or laptops because it’s
      Too much of a distraction to learning…bring back the
      Paddle. Make the parents pay half the cost to educate
      Their child and pay the school bus and the cost to
      Feed them. No more free lunch…parents need to pay
      Their fair share for their children in school. Parents need
      To be paying a user fee for each child they have in the
      Public school system…they need to have some skin in the game…not make property taxpayers foot the whole bill…yes. They should arrest the parent too since they
      Are responsible for their minor children.

  • The parks division should be putting up social justice
    Murals around town that say: “10,20,life…use or have
    A gun during a crime and you’re done”…

  • Is this a failure of Reichert House? Is this youth in
    That program and if not, why isn’t he? Did the system
    Fail him? Is it an equity issue? Where’s BLM? Where’s
    The NAACP? What are they doing to stop the black
    On black crime??

  • Was he wearing a hoodie and a face mask? People
    Wear the face mask not for Covid, but to virtue signal
    For social justice….now you know why so many people of
    Color wear the mask. Hypochondriacs, communists, and
    Virtue signalers wear the mask still. In the old days,
    It was the bank robbers & bandits who wore masks so
    They couldn’t be identified. A lot of these youth wear
    The mask and hoodie when they steal stuff from stores.

    • They should ban the use of face masks and hoodies
      When you wear them at the same time. You can’t
      Identify the perpetrator in a line-up and that’s important in a court of law when seeking a conviction. Legislators
      Need to do stop the use of the mask if there’s no emergency order.

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