Pair charged with drug and firearm offenses after traffic stop

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Cromwell III, 25, and Delontaye Antwon Nicholas Wilson, 26, were arrested last night and charged with various drug and firearm offenses after they were pulled over for having an invalid tag.

A Gainesville Police Department officer pulled over a car driven by Wilson in the area of 1300 E. University Avenue at about 9 p.m. The officer noted that the driver failed to signal while changing lanes, so she looked up the vehicle tag and found that the tag was not assigned to any vehicle, then conducted a traffic stop. She asked the driver, later identified as Wilson, for his license, and when he opened a bag to take out his license, she reported that she could see a smaller bag with white powder in plain view.

Wilson was asked to get out of the car, and a search of his person reportedly produced a bag of marijuana in his pocket. A search of his bag reportedly produced 38.9 grams of MDMA and 0.6 grams of crack cocaine.

A search of the vehicle reportedly produced a “cookie bag” with six bags of commercially-prepared marijuana, totaling 42.4 grams, on the passenger side. 384.2 grams of marijuana and a handgun were reportedly found in the back seat of the car; the gun was within reach of both occupants of the vehicle, and its serial number was scratched off.

Post Miranda, Cromwell reportedly said the marijuana in the “cookie bag” was for his personal use; he denied having any knowledge of any firearms in the car.

Cromwell has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a convenience store. He has three felony convictions for tampering with evidence, carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, and possession of marijuana with intent to sell; he served 13 months in state prison on those charges and was released in July 2022. Less than two weeks after his release, he was charged with attempted homicide in a downtown shooting incident; he was eventually formally charged with hit and run with property damage, aggravated fleeing with injury, and resisting arrest without violence, while no action was taken on the shooting charges. He is out on pre-trial release in that case after posting $30,000 bond. Bail information is unavailable on weekends.

Post Miranda, Wilson reportedly said he had purchased the car about two months ago and had not had a chance to register it, so he attached his cousin’s tag to the car. He also said the drugs in the car were for his personal use and that he had baggies and a scale because he measures out the drugs for his personal use. Wilson reportedly denied having any knowledge of the gun but then he said he would take responsibility for it because it was his car.

Wilson has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of trafficking quantities of phenethylamines, possession of an altered firearm, open carrying of a prohibited weapon, and attaching the wrong tag to a car. He has previously had adjudication withheld on two felonies: property damage over $1,000 and burglary to an unoccupied conveyance. He was also previously convicted of attaching the wrong tag to a car in a 2021 case. He has a warrant out of Manatee County for sexual cyber harassment. 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.