Report by Staff
ALACHUA, Fla. – Two Atlanta residents, Nathaniel Tramell Gates, 27, and Jada Jamil Kendrick, 22, found themselves in custody this past Sunday in Alachua after a traffic stop revealed the Audi A4 they were driving was reported stolen.
The incident unfolded on the night of May 17, around 9:54 p.m., when an officer from the Alachua Police Department noticed the stolen vehicle exiting a gas station on U.S. Highway 441. The officer initiated the pursuit by activating his emergency lights, but the Audi maneuvered around a second marked police vehicle, also with lights flashing, and sped onto I-75 heading north. The car accelerated at the on-ramp’s end but eventually slowed down and pulled over.
For a visual account of the event, you can view the APD’s video footage here.
Upon exiting the vehicle, Gates explained on the officer’s body camera that Kendrick was pregnant and they were en route to the hospital. He also mentioned it was his birthday, although records show his birthday is on May 14, not May 17, and claimed the car was a rental.
Kendrick also exited the vehicle and was subsequently detained. Before being taken to the jail, she was transported to the emergency room for medical clearance.
A search of the vehicle reportedly produced two Oxycodone Hydrochloride tablets in Gates’s wallet and a stolen Glock 23 pistol under the passenger seat.
Post Miranda, Gates reportedly said his fingerprints might be on the firearm because he had handed it to Kendrick.
Post Miranda, Kendrick reportedly admitted to taking the Audi against the will of the owner, and she said she was aware at the time that the owner’s Glock pistol was inside the vehicle.
Gates has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing with emergency lights activated, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He has felony convictions in Georgia and Texas and an active out-of-state warrant. Judge Joy Danne set bail at $35,000; he is still in the Alachua County Jail.
Kendrick has been charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and grand theft of a firearm. She has no criminal history, and Judge Danne set bail at $10,000; she posted bail and has been released from the jail.
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.
