Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – William Blas Hernandez, a 27-year-old resident of Hawthorne, was apprehended yesterday for possessing large quantities of drugs and a firearm, which had been reported missing in Orlando.

Around 10 a.m. on July 5, an officer from the Gainesville Police Department stopped Hernandez’s vehicle because it was speeding at 54 mph in a 45 mph zone along the 3800 block of NE 14th Street. During the stop, Hernandez admitted he lacked a valid driver’s license and could not present the vehicle’s registration documentation.

The officer observed Hernandez appeared anxious and lit a cigarette. When questioned about his anxiety, Hernandez claimed he was not nervous, although the officer noticed his chest moving rapidly. Upon being asked if there were any illegal drugs or firearms in the car, Hernandez reportedly looked at a gold backpack on the passenger floor and denied the presence of any illicit items.

The officer reported that he asked Hernandez to get out of the vehicle “because of his size,” and when he confirmed that Hernandez’s driver’s license was not valid, he detained him in handcuffs.

The officer reportedly saw a fresh marijuana “blunt” in the driver’s side door pocket, and a probable cause search of the vehicle reportedly produced a loaded 9mm pistol in the gold backpack; the pistol had been reported lost in Orlando. The backpack also reportedly held 42 grams of pressed pills, 18.6 grams of methamphetamines, 2.1 grams of an unknown purple powder in a baggie, a digital scale, a pack of plastic baggies, and an ATM receipt for a transaction on Hernandez’s bank account.

Post Miranda, Hernandez reportedly said the backpack was not his and he didn’t know about any of its contents. When asked if his fingerprints would be found on any of the contents, he reportedly said they would not because he hadn’t touched anything inside the backpack.

However, when he was asked about the ATM receipt for his account, he reportedly said the receipt must have fallen out of his wallet or pocket when he was in the vehicle; he also reportedly said his passenger was picking up trash inside the vehicle and placing the trash in the backpack.

Later, Hernandez reportedly said the backpack and its contents were his. He reportedly said the pressed pills were MDMA, the crystalline powder was methamphetamines, and he did not know what the purple powder was. He reportedly said he was selling illegal narcotics because of financial and family struggles.

When the officer asked where he got the gun, Hernandez reportedly said he found it on the side of the road in Interlachen. The officer reportedly asked Hernandez if he knew he was a convicted felon and was not allowed to possess firearms, and Hernandez reportedly said he was aware of those things.

Hernandez has been charged with possession of trafficking quantities of methamphetamines, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by someone who knows he is prohibited from having one, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving without a valid license. Hernandez has at least eight felony convictions (two violent) and at least two misdemeanor convictions (two violent); he has served three prison sentences and was most recently released in January 2025 after serving sentences for burglary and drug possession out of Alachua and Bradford counties. Judge David Kreider set bail at $250,000.

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.