Man found in dumpster after reports of an armed disturbance
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dennis Earl Darby, Jr., 23, was arrested yesterday after deputies investigating a call about a man with a gun reportedly found him hiding in a dumpster; a gun was found in another dumpster nearby.
At about 4:15 p.m. yesterday, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to multiple reports of a physical fight in which one man had pulled out a gun and pointed it at another individual near SW 13th Street and SW Williston Road.
Deputies made contact with Darby in the median at the intersection, where Darby reportedly asked deputies if he was detained. When they said he was detained, he reportedly reached into his waistband and ran away. Deputies pursued him on foot to a dead end at the back of Bridge House, where Darby was reportedly found in a dumpster following a search of the surrounding area.
A gun was recovered in another dumpster, and video surveillance from a nearby camera reportedly showed Darby placing a firearm in his waistband before walking toward the area where he initially spoke to deputies.
Post Miranda, Darby reportedly admitted that he heard deputies telling him he was detained before he ran away; he also claimed ownership of the firearm and confessed that he threw the gun in the trash.
Darby has been charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, resisting arrest without violence, and tampering with evidence.
Darby has one felony conviction and was sentenced to 18 months of drug offender probation in December 2021. He failed a drug test and served 20 days in jail in early 2022, then failed a second drug test in March 2022, resulting in the issuance of a warrant for his arrest that was still active at the time of his arrest yesterday. Bail information is unavailable on weekends.
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.Â
You mean by Meridian, just be honest. Thank you addict magnet center for cleverly setting up shop in a woke college town — signed, ex-politicians who need jobs later.
Just say it’s Meridian again. The other head of the two-headed magnetic beast in gullible Wokeville. Designed for local ex-politician job opportunities.
One Criminal emptying trash cans and another one hiding in them. Go Gainesville!
Did he work anywhere by the way? Live and pay rent somewhere, too? The location at Meridian suggests he may be resident or friend of one. Their clients are trapped in a college town, often by the probation system, made into cash machines for lawyers. They should be told to leave a college town — oh unless he contributes something else of course.
Gainesville’s turning into a dumpster. No wonder he didn’t have to go far to find his “sanctuary.”
If it isn’t ol’ dirty dumpster divin’ Dennis Darby and his dirty dreds… 💩 😄
There should be no bail because he violated probation and should go straight to prison…upon admittance, shave & haircut like they do in boot camp…
They need to add a charge besides carrying a gun without a permit…he’s a convicted felon and can’t have a gun at all and is ineligible for a permit. The gun is probably stolen too.
Please consolidate and move GRACE and M e r i d i a n. Then relocate the whole NGO effort to a non-college town, where these folks stand a better chance of adulthood. It’s not working here.
Jeff: better yet, double the size of the jail and consolidate that with Meridian and Grace.
Jeff: they need to triple the size of the jail and consolidatedMeridian, Grace, and work release all from there…a one stop social services and rehabilitation stop! The consolidation will save taxpayer money and reduce carbon emissions and save the planet.
Win, win, win..
He’s now got him a new ‘street name’…..”Dumpster Dennis”.