Staff report

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – The arrest of Adam Webb on May 25, according to High Springs Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard, likely averted a potential incident at Ginnie Springs during the Memorial Day weekend.

On Sunday, May 25, at approximately 2:26 p.m., Adam Joseph Webb, aged 22, was stopped by a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper in High Springs for not wearing a seatbelt. An officer from the High Springs Police Department also arrived at the scene and noticed both Webb and his passenger, Ja’khail Naveco Brown, 24, rearranging items inside the vehicle. Both law enforcement officials detected the scent of marijuana and observed marijuana remnants in the car.

While approaching the car, the trooper was informed by Brown, the passenger, that he possessed a small amount of marijuana, approximately 2.9 grams. He also disclosed that his bag, located on the vehicle’s front bench seat, contained a 9mm pistol, which was within reach of both Webb and Brown.

Both men were asked to step out of the vehicle, and a search of the vehicle reportedly produced a backpack, within reach of both men, containing a loaded AR pistol.

Post Miranda, both men denied ownership or knowledge of the AR pistol.

As a convicted felon, Webb was charged with four counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon (one for each firearm and magazine). Brown was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Webb has one felony conviction (non-violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he is on pre-trial release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and is facing a sworn complaint for theft and property damage. Judge Luis Bustamante set bail at $10,000 for one of the firearm possession charges and ordered Webb released on his own recognizance on the other three charges; Webb posted bail and was released on Monday, May 26.

Brown was released on $500 bail.

Chief Sheppard’s letter about the arrest

In a letter released on May 30, HSPD Chief J. Antoine Sheppard praised the “proactive policing operation” conducted by HSPD, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the Alachua Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol over Memorial Day weekend and reported “a noticeable reduction in traffic volume, which we attribute to the capacity restrictions implemented by Ginnie Springs and the coordinated efforts of a safety committee led by the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office.”

Sheppard said Webb’s arrest was the “most significant incident over the weekend” because Webb was “reportedly en route to Ginnie Springs.” Sheppard described the 2024 incident that resulted in the firearm possession charge after two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon were dropped: “[Webb] allegedly chased a woman from Alachua to High Springs, fired a gun into the air during a confrontation with her father, and fled the scene… We firmly believe that had Webb made it to the Springs this year with a firearm, the outcome could have mirrored the tragic violence we witnessed last Memorial Weekend, when multiple people were shot over the course of two days and innocent lives were lost.”