Police: Local man threatens to harm RTS driver
A Gainesville man was arrested Saturday after police said he threatened to kill a Regional Transit System bus driver with a pocket knife.
At about 11 a.m., Ricky Lynn Owens, 56, sat at the Rosa Parks Downtown Station when a bus driver asked if he was banned from using RTS, according to a police report.
The question upset Owens, who stepped out of his wheelchair, revealed a black knife and walked toward the open door of the bus, according to the report.
“I’m going to kill you,” Owens said, according to the report.
The bus driver closed the door before Owens could reach him, according to the report, and Owens was still there when police arrived.
“Someone was going to die today,” he said multiple times, assuring police the “someone” would not be him, according to the report.
Police found the knife in Owens’ front left pocket, according to the report. Owens later told police he brandished the knife in self-defense.
Owens was found guilty of petty theft in 2014, according to Alachua County court records. Since 2004, several charges for battery and aggravated assault were dropped.
Police arrested Owens on a charge of aggravated assault. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $75,000 bond.
Police: Gainesville trio robs Taco Bell drive-thru
Three Gainesville residents were arrested Saturday after police said they stole about $670 from Taco Bell.
At about midnight, Alexis Washington, 21, drove to the Taco Bell on Archer Road and waited in line at the drive-thru, according to the report.
Thomas Jerome Lundy II, 18, and Aubrey Desean Strong, 19, then stepped out of the car, according to the report.
Washington ordered and then proceeded to the pickup window, where Lundy reached inside the restaurant and grabbed a cash drawer while Strong served as the lookout, according to the report.
Lundy and Strong ran with about $670 as Taco Bell employees followed, according to the report. The two separated as they crossed Windmeadows Boulevard, ditching the cash drawer as they continued their escape, according to the report. Police later stopped Strong and Washington at the Winn-Dixie on Southwest 34th Street.
Authorities found Lundy near Spanish Trace Apartments, where he admitted to a failed robbery at a McDonald’s in Alachua, Florida, hours earlier, according to the report.
Police arrested Washington on charges of accessory after the fact and driving with a revoked license. Authorities took her to the Alachua County Jail, where she remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $31,000 bond.
Police arrested Lundy and Strong on charges of burglary and grand theft. As of press time, they remain in the Alachua County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bonds.
Local man arrested with 37 grams of cocaine, $1,300
A Gainesville man was arrested Thursday after police said he had cocaine, MDMA, marijuana and more than $1,000 in cash.
At about 9 p.m., Abraham William Thompson, 24, stood on the southeast corner of Southwest 31st Avenue with a partially rolled blunt in his hand, according to a police report.
The blunt weighed about 2 grams, according to the report. Police then arrested Thompson and searched his pockets.
In his left rear pants pocket, police found plastic bags filled with about 22 grams of powder cocaine, 15 grams of crack cocaine and 3 grams of Molly, according to the report.
In Thompson’s front right pants pocket, police found $1,290 in cash, according to the report.
Because no paraphernalia was found, police said they believe Thompson intended to sell the drugs rather than use them.
Thompson, whose aliases include Ham and Fye Cracka, told police he was holding the drugs as a favor for someone, according to the report.
Police arrested Thompson on charges of possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana, possessing amphetamine and trafficking cocaine.
Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $151,000 bond.
