Pair arrested after traffic stop leads to discovery of two kilos of cocaine

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Damien Charles Curtis, 46, and Cleveland Tyrone Ferguson II, 54, were arrested last night after officers reportedly saw Curtis give Ferguson a bag and then found two kilos of cocaine in Ferguson’s vehicle.

Beginning in 2025, members of the Gainesville-Alachua County Drug Task Force had been investigating a group of people, including Curtis and Ferguson, who were believed to be distributing trafficking amounts of cocaine locally.

At about 5:20 p.m. on March 3, Task Force members were conducting surveillance in the area of 84 Lumber (5083 NW 13th Street), where Curtis worked, and they reported seeing a white Dodge Charger park near Curtis’s vehicle. Curtis reportedly entered his vehicle, emerged with a large brown package, and then handed the package to the driver of the Charger, who was later identified as Ferguson.

Officers followed the Charger and conducted a traffic stop at about 5:32 p.m. in the 5300 block of NE 15th Street for speeding, a suspected window tint violation, and tinted rear taillights. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reportedly told Ferguson he would be writing a warning; while filling out the written warning, the officer asked whether there were any illegal narcotics in the vehicle, and Ferguson reportedly said he was on federal probation for narcotics-related offenses and there were no illegal narcotics in the vehicle. Ferguson denied consent to search the vehicle.

The deputy retrieved his K-9 partner, and the K-9 alerted to illegal narcotics in the Charger, establishing probable cause to search the vehicle.

The search reportedly produced a brown plastic shopping bag that contained a cloth “Louis Vuitton” bag containing two separate kilos of cocaine, wrapped in duct tape. One package reportedly weighed 1,088 grams, and the other weighed 1,097 grams; the substances in both packages tested positive for cocaine.

Any amount over 28 grams of cocaine is considered to be a trafficking offense.

A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that the “Louis Vuitton” bag looked “very similar if not identical” to the bag that Curtis gave Ferguson in the parking lot.

Post Miranda, Curtis reportedly said that he met with an acquaintance at 84 Lumber and gave him money; he denied any involvement with illegal narcotics.

Curtis has been charged with trafficking in cocaine. He has 16 felony convictions (two violent) and 24 misdemeanor convictions (three violent), and he has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2016. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $100,000.

Ferguson has been charged with trafficking in cocaine. His full criminal history is currently unavailable, but his first local arrest was in 1988, and he is on federal probation after serving a 20-year federal sentence for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine. Judge Rawls set bail at $200,000.

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.