Gang unit detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say a 20-year-old convicted felon was caught with a loaded gun stashed in his pants pocket during an April 27 arrest.
According to the sheriff’s office, detectives served a warrant on Jabary Ya’Dale Lance Drew, whom the agency describes as a three-time convicted felon and alleged gang member, and found a loaded pistol tucked in his pants. He now faces multiple weapons-related felony charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition.
In a post on X, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said its gang unit detectives took Drew into custody and “found a loaded pistol in his pants pocket.” The post lists charges of carrying a concealed firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Charges and state law
Florida law makes it unlawful for anyone convicted of a felony to possess firearms or ammunition under Fla. Stat. 790.23. The statute covers both possession and carrying a concealed weapon by a felon, and prosecutors commonly rely on it in cases like this.
Separately, using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony is a third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. 934.215, which is the basis for the phone-related charge listed by the sheriff’s office.
Local enforcement context
The gang unit’s arrest comes amid an ongoing push by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to remove illegal guns from the streets. Deputies have previously recovered loaded handguns and other weapons during proactive stops and investigations, a pattern that has surfaced repeatedly in local coverage.
FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported on one such case, where deputies conducting a traffic stop found guns and drugs in a vehicle driven by a convicted felon.
What's next
Drew faces prosecution in Hillsborough County. The sheriff’s post on X did not include bond information or a court date.
Court dockets and public records can be searched through the Hillsborough County Clerk’s HOVER case search and the sheriff’s arrest inquiry once records are posted. The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court provides public access to case dockets and documents.
