Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Deron Cortez Williams, 15, is facing adult charges of armed robbery, vehicle burglary and motor vehicle theft, according to authorities.
Armed robbery
Gainesville Police Department officers went to Mill Run Apartments at 2313 SW 39th Way on July 28 after a woman reported that she had arranged through Instagram to sell a shirt and two jackets. The buyer directed her to the apartment complex, where she found two males near dumpsters behind the buildings. One of them, later identified as Williams, came to the driver’s side of her vehicle, while the other, identified as 17-year-old Keshawn Ferguson, allegedly stayed close by as a lookout.
As the woman displayed the clothing, Williams allegedly raised his shirt, revealed a handgun and pointed it at her. He then demanded, “Give me everything you’ve got.”
The woman said she handed over the clothing, after which both males began walking away. They reportedly turned back moments later, and Williams allegedly aimed the gun at the woman and her passenger while asking whether they had money. When she replied that she did not, the pair ran through the back of the apartment complex.
Police later recovered a plastic bag containing the stolen clothing. Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage along the suspects’ reported route and saw two males enter Senor Bubbles, located at 4080 SW 24th Avenue, roughly an hour before the robbery. The victim identified the two people shown in that video as the men involved in the incident.
Investigators used facial-recognition technology to identify Ferguson. A subpoena sent to Instagram also produced a phone number linked to the account that arranged the clothing purchase; police said the number was associated with Williams’ mother.
Vehicle burglary and theft
On Aug. 4, a GPD officer investigating a stolen Honda Civic reviewed license plate reader data showing the vehicle traveling south on SW 23rd Drive from SW Archer Road at approximately 12:58 p.m. The Civic was later detected heading east on Archer Road around 1:08 p.m. Because of the vehicle’s route and the timing, the officer went to the Wawa at 2373 SW Archer Road to request surveillance footage.
The video reportedly showed the Civic pulling up to a gas pump at about 1 p.m. Two Black males who appeared to be juveniles then exited the vehicle. Investigators later identified the driver as Williams and the passenger as Ferguson.
At approximately 1:03 p.m., the two juveniles went inside the Wawa and used about $4 in coins to purchase gas, according to the report.
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Not long afterward, the same officer responded to an unrelated call near Woodland Park Apartments and spotted the two juveniles. She requested additional officers and monitored them until backup arrived. Both were taken into custody without incident.
Authorities said Williams directed them to an area near SE 22nd Street and SE 2nd Avenue, where officers found the stolen Honda Civic.
A search of Ferguson’s backpack allegedly uncovered a Taurus G2c handgun. The firearm had been reported stolen from a vehicle on July 26, 2026. Ferguson reportedly told investigators he found the gun near Woodland Park Apartments.
According to police, Williams’ GPS monitor placed him at the Mill Run Apartments during the July 28 armed robbery and showed him traveling south afterward. The device also placed him at Senor Bubbles before the robbery. Investigators said the monitor recorded Williams at the residence where the Taurus handgun was stolen on July 31, as well as at the Archer Road Wawa between roughly 1 p.m. and 1:07 p.m. on Aug. 4, matching the store’s surveillance footage.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Williams reportedly acknowledged being present during the armed robbery but said he had not known it was going to happen. He told investigators that he saw Ferguson meeting with the victim, heard her scream and watched Ferguson take the clothing. Williams said he ran when the shouting began and later saw Ferguson wearing the stolen items.
Williams also reportedly said he and Ferguson were at Canopy Apartments, 4400 SW 20th Avenue, on the day the Civic was taken. He said they needed a way to get back home and entered a vehicle after finding the keys inside. The pair drove the Civic to the 2200 block of E. University Avenue, abandoned it there and took a bus to Woodland Park Apartments. Williams said the keys had been inside the car’s cupholder.
Ferguson, after receiving Miranda warnings, reportedly told police that he and Williams found the Civic unlocked and entered it, although he said he could not recall where that happened. During a second interview, he allegedly admitted breaking into a vehicle and finding the Taurus handgun inside the glove compartment.
Ferguson has been charged as an adult in connection with the stolen Civic. As of the report, he had not been charged in the armed robbery case.
Williams has been charged with armed robbery, use of a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and burglary of an unoccupied vehicle. He has a juvenile history starting when he was 11, and he was on probation at the time of these incidents for inciting a riot, battery on detention staff, and battery on a detainee. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
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.
