Man arrested for car theft and drug possession
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mitchell Harrison, 34, was arrested last night and charged with grand theft of a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, driving without a valid license, and resisting arrest without violence after officers pulled over a car that had been reported stolen.
The victim reported a stolen car to Gainesville Police Department yesterday, and officers located the car in the 300 block of W. University Avenue. From there, the car turned north on Main Street to the 800 block and turned east into a gas station. Officers reported that the driver, later identified as Harrison, got out of the car and ran north through the parking lot and then down the sidewalk. Officers ran after him, ordering him to stop, but he continued running into the CVS parking lot, where he tripped and fell, at which point he was detained by officers. Harrison sustained scrapes from the fall and was treated by EMS at the scene.
Harrison was found to have an active warrant out of Bradford County for driving without a valid license.
Post Miranda, Harrison reportedly said his mother had just picked him up in Orlando and brought him to Gainesville, then he went to a friend’s house, where “everyone” was drinking, and they asked him to take them to the store; Harrison said he didn’t know the car was stolen.
A search of the vehicle reportedly produced a bag containing 6.4 grams of marijuana and 4.4 grams of MDPV. The marijuana was determined to belong to one of the passengers, who has a medical marijuana card. Passengers in the vehicle reportedly said the MDPV belonged to Harrison.
Harrison has five felony convictions and has served two state prison sentences, including a ten-year sentence for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $35,000.
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.
There’s an awful lot of immigrants who seem to find a home in Gainesville. Unfortunately, many of them appear to be convicted of some crime or another.
Local leadership will leave the lights on for them but will turn your lights off if your bill is delinquent.
…but he really needed the car for that job search.
Glad he’s got those face & neck tattoos so he can be identified easily….he looks like he already has a job working for the devil as one of his demons…
Can we judge people by their facial tattoos ?
Yes, poor decision-making and low impulse control.
Judges need to tell convicts to return ANYWHERE but a college town, unless they want them to stay in the revolving door…. 🤔🤔🤔🤬🤑
He just needs some education. Then he will be a law abiding citizen.
It’s this type of behavior that’s adding to GNV’s “traffic violence crisis”….stolen car, convict, drugs…you know that would be a hit & run if he got into an accident and the pedestrian or bicyclist would be left for dead…good police work!