Man in pre-trial diversion program arrested for having a firearm on the UF campus
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kenyata Malik McCoy, 21, was arrested yesterday and charged with having a firearm on the University of Florida campus; he is currently in a pre-trial diversion agreement following an April arrest for loitering/prowling and resisting an officer without violence.
According to a University of Florida Police officer, an employee of the Broward Dining Facility on campus (596 Broward Drive) found a gun in the men’s restroom and reported it to his supervisor.
The responding officer reported that surveillance video showed McCoy entering the restroom at about 12:07 a.m. on November 7 and leaving about 10 minutes later; the next person to enter the restroom was the employee who found the gun.
Officers arrested McCoy yesterday at Lux 13 Apartments. Post Miranda, he reportedly said he saw the gun on the sink in the bathroom and said, “Wow.” He said he picked up the gun and put it down, but he said he did not take it into the restroom.
The officer noted that the gun was reported stolen from a vehicle in June 2020. McCoy was arrested in the summer of 2020 for multiple car burglaries and admitted, post Miranda, that he had burglarized several vehicles and had stolen a purse from one of them. In September 2021, McCoy was arrested for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm, and McCoy reportedly said at the time that he found the gun in the bushes.
The officer noted that McCoy “was actively committing vehicle burglaries around the time frame this firearm was reported stolen” and “his statement post Miranda places him in possession of the stolen firearm on University of Florida property.”
McCoy has been charged with possession of a firearm on school property. He has juvenile convictions spanning from 2019 to 2021 but no adult convictions. He was arrested in April 2025 for loitering/prowling and resisting an officer without violence and entered into a pre-trial diversion agreement that will dismiss the charges if he abides by a list of conditions for six months; one of the conditions is to refrain from violating any laws.
Judge Denise Ferrero set bail at $10,000.
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.
Another one of Gainesville’s FINEST
AND UF! ESPECIALLY HIRING HIM!
🙄
A DEI hire for sure. Thought that was all done with but..here we are.
French Fry, the commissioners voted some time ago that an employer is not allowed to search/ consider criminal history. It’s discrimination.
This is an AI explanation:
communication that indicates a person is unwelcome because of their protected status.
Gainesville Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance
Applies to: Private employers with 15 or more employees whose primary work location is in Gainesville.
When to ask about criminal history: Employers cannot ask about an applicant’s criminal history until after a conditional offer of employment has been made.
Adverse action based on criminal history: Employers cannot take adverse action (e.g., refuse to hire or promote) based on an individual’s criminal history unless they conduct an “individualized assessment” to determine the individual is unsuitable for the job.
Individualized assessment: This assessment must at a minimum consider the nature and gravity of the offense(s) and the age of the individual at the time of the offense.
UF employee found gun and called police. Nowhere does it say the accused was a UF employee.
Lights are on, but nobody is home. He didn’t get the memo!
Other posters…where does it say he’s employed by UF?
“He has juvenile convictions spanning from 2019 to 2021 but no adult convictions.”
A career criminal in ‘training’.
The article did not say that the perpetrator was an employee of UF. I read that an employee found the gun in the restroom and turned it over to his UF supervisor.