Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities apprehended 40-year-old Tabaree Jakeem Lewis yesterday on a warrant, with additional charges emerging after a deputy discovered evidence of drug sales in his vehicle near a convenience store.

Around 11:26 p.m. on January 3, an officer from the Gainesville Police Department noticed Lewis driving a Kia on SE 3rd Avenue. As the officer tailed him, Lewis displayed irregular driving behavior before stopping at a residence with which he had no known connection. Upon exiting his vehicle, he ignored commands to return to it, allegedly tossing narcotics, later confirmed as cocaine, before fleeing on foot.

In plain sight on the car’s center console was a baggie of methamphetamine. This observation led to a search, which reportedly uncovered 24.6 grams of crack cocaine, 28.65 grams of methamphetamine, and 2 grams of MDMA.

Consequently, a sworn complaint was lodged against Lewis, listing charges that include methamphetamine trafficking, evidence tampering, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting arrest without violence.

Judge Robert Groeb subsequently issued an arrest warrant on January 20, setting Lewis’s bail at $475,000.

At about 2:33 p.m. on February 2, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling in the 1300 block of East University Avenue when he saw Lewis standing near his Kia. The deputy activated his lights and pulled in front of Lewis, who allegedly fled on foot; Lewis reportedly ran around the back of the store and circled back to the front, where he entered the Food Max. Two deputies entered the store, and an employee pointed toward an employee-only room; a deputy gave commands for Lewis to come out, and he did.

An ASO K-9 team alerted to the presence of contraband in Lewis’s Kia, and a probable cause search reportedly produced 358 grams of marijuana, packaged in small and large quantities for easy distribution; 3.3 grams of marijuana in another location; 10.4 grams of crack cocaine in the center console; and 35.9 grams of an unknown brown substance that did not test positive for any illegal substance but was packaged in small bags for distribution.

A search of Lewis, incident to arrest, reportedly produced about $1,300 in cash.

Lewis reportedly told deputies that he fled because of his warrant and his fear that he “would be going to prison until he was in his sixties.”

On top of the above charges, Lewis has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a convenience store, maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of selling drugs, and resisting an office without violence.

Lewis has five felony convictions (two violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he was on pre-trial release after posting $60,000 bail after a September 2025 arrest for selling cocaine. He has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2024. Judge Susan Miller-Jones added $200,000 bail to the $475,000 from the warrant.

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.