Man arrested on 9 charges after overturning car while fleeing officer

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Eric Travon White, 31, was arrested this morning on a warrant stemming from an incident on December 9, 2021.

According to a Gainesville Police Department report, an officer tried to stop a Honda Accord at 3:35 p.m. on December 9 for a window tint violation and for illegally parking on the roadway in front of the 8th Avenue Food Store. The car drove away southbound on NE Waldo Road, and the officer reported that he turned on his emergency overhead lights. The vehicle slowed, turned on the right turn signal, then turned right on NE 5th Avenue and accelerated away “at a high rate of speed.” The officer slowed down and turned off his lights.

A short time later, the officer was flagged down by multiple witnesses because the Accord had overturned. An off-duty EMT was trying to keep the occupant, later identified as White, still. The officer could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle. The officer reported that he later learned that White had crashed into another vehicle, then continued driving away, crashed into a fence line, and hit a second vehicle before finally stopping.

The officer reported that he could see a large bag containing cannabis in plain sight, along with three smaller plastic bags containing a substance that looked like crack cocaine. Overall, White allegedly had 32.7 grams of cocaine, 6.2 grams of MDMA pills, and over 200 grams of cannabis, along with $1,600 cash. The officer wrote that he had probable cause to believe that White was selling drugs outside the convenience store where the incident began.

Post Miranda, White reportedly admitted that everything in the car belonged to him and his wife, but he did not admit to anything regarding the illegal items. He allegedly said he’d had people riding in the car earlier, and maybe the items belonged to them. The officer estimated that White caused over $18,000 in damage to other people’s property after crashing while attempting to flee.

White has been charged with trafficking cocaine, selling amphetamines within 1000 feet of a business, selling cocaine within 1000 feet of a business, selling marijuana within 1000 feet of a business, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug equipment, aggravated fleeing with injury, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, and keeping a vehicle for the purpose of selling dangerous drugs. He is being held on $460,000 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.