Pair arrested for firearm possession after traffic stop

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tyren Edward Certain, 23, and Jamarien L. Ross, 18, were arrested early yesterday morning for firearm possession and other charges following a traffic stop.

At about 4:15 a.m. on October 2, a Gainesville Police Department officer reported seeing a vehicle traveling southbound on SE 15th Street, then making a “sudden and abrupt turn” onto SE 19th Avenue before turning off its headlights.

An officer followed the vehicle and reported that it stopped in the eastbound lane of SE 15th Avenue, facing west, with the brake lights on and the rear passenger door open. The driver of the vehicle then reportedly turned the headlights back on and drove several blocks before making another stop facing the wrong way in front of a home.

The officer conducted a traffic stop and reportedly found Certain in the driver’s seat and Ross in the front passenger seat. Certain was detained and questioned about the suspicious driving patterns. Ross reportedly stepped out of the vehicle and emptied his pockets, producing a black mask; when the officer asked him for his name, he allegedly ran through multiple backyards. Officers lost sight of him after he jumped a fence, but Ross was reportedly found hiding between a fence and a shed in the backyard of a home in the 1600 block of SE 13th Place.

Officers walking Ross’ path reportedly found a Glock 26 loaded with 18 rounds.

A search of the vehicle based on the odor of marijuana reportedly produced an oxycodone pill, and a rifle loaded with .223 cal rounds was found in the trunk.

After Ross allegedly ran, Certain reportedly said that he did not know his front-seat passenger and could not say where he picked him up or where they were going.

Post Miranda, Certain reportedly said the oxycodone was his and that he uses it for pain from a traffic crash but does not have a prescription for it.

Post Miranda, Ross reportedly said that the Glock belongs to his mother and that he took it.

Certain has been charged with prowling, possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He has no criminal history; Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $35,000.

Ross has been charged with resisting an officer without violence, prowling, unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm, and tampering with evidence. He has a juvenile conviction from 2022; Judge Miller-Jones set bail at $105,000.

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.