Newberry Man Arrested for Possession of Firearm and Ammunition

NEWBERRY ‒ Edwin Lee Daniels, 18, of Newberry, was arrested on Saturday, June 24, and charged with two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by an individual previously convicted as a juvenile of a crime that would be a felony as an adult.

At about 9:32 p.m., Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of an intoxicated man inside the Dollar General store in Newberry. The caller said the man had a handgun in his waistband and an extended magazine in his pocket.

A deputy reported that Daniels, who matched the description provided by the caller, was standing outside next to the ice machine when he arrived. The deputy asked Daniels where the gun was, and Daniels reportedly said he did not have a gun but had a “clip” in his pocket.

The deputy reportedly found an extended magazine with 27 rounds of 9 mm ammunition in Daniels’ rear pocket and detained him. He then searched Daniels and did not find a gun but reportedly found another round of 9 mm ammunition in Daniels’ pocket.

When additional deputies arrived, another deputy searched the area around the ice machine and reportedly found a tan Taurus International 9 mm semi-automatic handgun lying behind the ice machine where Daniels had just been standing.

While deputies were conducting their investigation, a family member of Daniels arrived and reportedly said she had seen Daniels with the gun in her home the previous night and had told him he needed to get rid of it. She said she had seen Daniels with the gun again that day and believed he took it with him when he left the house to go to the Dollar General.

Daniels has a juvenile conviction from 2020 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and he had a warrant for failing to appear at a hearing on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license.

Bail was set at $100,000 by Judge Thomas M. Jaworski.

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