Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On October 7, 53-year-old Ronnie Leron Williams, Sr. was taken into custody after authorities found a substantial amount of drugs during a search of his home, where a young child was also present.

On that day, deputies from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Williams’s residence in Tower Village. The search yielded 43.5 Doxycycline Hyclate pills not prescribed to him, 10.32 grams of crack cocaine, 77.16 grams of marijuana divided into 20 bags, 15.55 grams of fentanyl in 18 small baggies, 5.55 grams of Oxycodone pills, as well as drug paraphernalia such as a digital scale, baggies, and razor blades used for cutting and packaging drugs.

Upon his arrest, a personal search reportedly found three more small baggies with 0.32 grams, 0.32 grams, and 0.29 grams of fentanyl. These baggies, all featuring a unique bulldog logo on one side, increased the total fentanyl amount to 16.48 grams.

Williams’s home is situated less than 1,000 feet from Veterans Memorial Park, under 700 feet from Wiles Elementary, less than 1,500 feet from Kanapaha Middle School, and under 1,400 feet from the Haile Equestrian Center, which features children’s programs.

An infant was said to be in the home during the search, along with various indications that the child regularly stays there. The arrest report mentioned that many small drug baggies containing fentanyl were found in the kitchen near the infant’s food and snacks.

Williams faces several charges including failure to register a vehicle and providing false registration as a sexual offender, two counts of selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or park, possession of trafficking amounts of fentanyl, running a drug house with a minor present, multiple counts of possession with intent to sell Schedule I and II controlled substances, child neglect, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to sell, and possession of a legend drug with intent to sell.

Williams, a registered sexual offender, has 10 felony convictions (non-violent, one sex offense) and four misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and has served three state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2017. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bail on the fentanyl trafficking charge, 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. Judge Rawls set bail at $750,000 on the other charges.

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.