Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 21-year-old named Timothy Dewayne Means Jr. has been transferred from prison to face new charges stemming from an incident earlier this year, where he is accused of threatening a woman with a firearm.
The incident occurred on August 31, 2023, when deputies from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office were called to an apartment in Holly Heights. The victim claimed that after an argument, Means pointed a pistol at her.
She was able to provide a detailed description of Means and noted that he had retreated into a nearby apartment. Acting on this information, deputies approached the apartment and instructed the occupants to exit the premises.
Among those who came out was Means, matching the description provided by the victim, right down to the clothes he was wearing.
One of the residents allowed deputies to search the apartment, leading to the discovery of a loaded 9mm Taurus G3, found in an open drawer inside the oven.
The firearm was collected because all three of the occupants of the apartment were prohibited from possessing firearms, but no charges were filed at the time.
The firearm was processed by forensics, and it was found that it had been used in a previous shooting in Majestic Oaks.
In April 2024, Means was arrested on new charges, and while he was in the Alachua County Jail, a DNA warrant was obtained and a sample was collected. A post-Miranda interview was also conducted at that time, and Means reportedly denied any involvement in the August 2023 incident and denied possessing any firearms.
In August 2025, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that DNA swabs collected from the pistol were matched to the samples collected from Means. Formal charges were filed and a warrant was issued in September 2025, and the State Attorney’s Office requested in early December that Means be transported from state prison to the Alachua County Jail to face the charges.
Means has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent (a juvenile adjudicated guilty of a charge that would be a felony for an adult). He has juvenile convictions between 2014 and 2021, along with five adult felony convictions (one violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he is currently serving three concurrent five-year sentences in state prison for drug trafficking, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and aggravated battery of a pregnant victim. Bail has been set at $250,000 on the new charges, but Means must finish his prison sentence (May 2029) before posting bail.
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.
