Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Adrian Antonio Alvarado-Gomez, 42, was apprehended yesterday for operating a vehicle without a valid license and on charges of fraud connected to holding a driver’s license under the identity of a deceased individual, which he claimed was issued to him at a DMV office in Miami. A deputy also observed that Alvarado-Gomez’s photograph had been incorporated into the deceased person’s record within the state’s driver’s license database.

At approximately 7:19 p.m. on August 22, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a car that had a temporary tag on NE Waldo Road for driving too closely behind a semi and switching lanes across a double white line close to an intersection.

The driver allegedly provided a name and date of birth, accompanied by a driver’s license with matching details. When the deputy checked the driver’s license database, he discovered that the license was issued to a man who had passed away in May 2021. Nonetheless, both the photograph on the physical license and in the state database corresponded with Alvarado-Gomez.

The vehicle was also allegedly registered in the deceased person’s name on August 15, 2025. Alvarado-Gomez reportedly stated that he bought the vehicle in Miami a few weeks earlier.

Alvarado-Gomez allegedly agreed to allow a search of the vehicle, which revealed three bank cards bearing names different from either his actual name or the name on the driver’s license.

Following Miranda warnings, Alvarado-Gomez reportedly confessed to paying a person in Miami to transport him to a DMV office, where his photo was taken and he was issued a license in the name of the deceased man; he explained he did this to find employment since he is not a U.S. citizen and is residing in the country illegally.

The deputy reported that no driver’s license has ever been issued in Alvarado-Gomez’s real name.

Alvarado-Gomez, whose listed address is in Jacksonville, has been charged with two counts of fraudulent use of the personal identification information of a deceased person, possession of the similitude of a driver’s license, giving false identification information to law enforcement, unlawful possession of the personal identification information of another person, and driving without a valid license. Judge Gloria Walker set bail at $7,500.

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.