February 23, 2018
John William Gardenier (9-28-93) isn’t a stranger to the
Levy County Sheriff’s Office. We arrested him December 5, 2017 for burglary,
grand theft and theft of a motor vehicle. He was able to post bond on December
20, 2017 and immediately went back to his old ways.
The LCSO responded to a burglary complaint on January 31st in the Inglis area of Levy County. The
victim reported to our responding deputy that he discovered his home was broken
into and a large sum of cash had been taken. Investigators developed a lead on
this investigation late Wednesday evening and were able to confirm that Gardenier
was responsible for this crime.
Yesterday morning, members of the LCSO Criminal
Investigations Division went looking for Mr. Gardenier to arrest him. Constant
citizen tips allowed Investigators to locate Gardenier riding a motorcycle near
the US Coast Guard Station in Yankeetown. The first arriving Investigator reported
his observations and requested assistance from his partners to make the arrest.
Additional Investigators responded to assist in making the
arrest. This is when things got a bit sketchy for our men. Gardenier had
stopped on the side of the road and had his hands inside a backpack he was
carrying when our investigators approached him. Investigator Wilkinson began
yelling orders to Gardenier, telling him to remove his hands from the backpack.
When Gardenier did, Investigator Wilkinson was told Gardenier had a pistol.
Investigator Wilkinson yelled to his fellow officers that Gardenier had a gun,
but it was too late. Investigators already had their hands on Gardenier and
were able to safely disarm him and place him in handcuffs.
The contents of Gardenier’s backpack spilled out and
investigators saw that he not only was he trying to hide a gun, he also had
drugs. Investigators verified the drugs were methamphetamines and additionally
found thirteen (13) hypodermic needles Gardenier used to inject the meth into
his system.
Gardenier was transported to the Levy County Detention
Facility and has been charged with the following crimes:
1.
Burglary
2.
Grand Theft
3.
Possession of Methamphetamine
4.
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
5.
Possession of a Concealed Firearm
6.
Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of
a Felony