A Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office detective watching a black 2025 Mercedes-Benz C300 near Northwest 96th Street and Seventh Avenue followed the car to Miami Central High School, where it sat in the parking lot for about 10 minutes before deputies pulled it over and say they found two loaded firearms inside. Three people, including a 17-year-old, were arrested. Classes were not in session at the time, but the campus was active and open to teachers and administrators.
According to WPLG Local 10, detectives were already conducting surveillance in northern Miami-Dade County on Tuesday when they spotted the Mercedes and noticed its front windshield was tinted well past the legal limit. Investigators later measured the front windows at just 5% visible light opacity, far below the 28% minimum that Florida law requires for front side windows, according to Florida Statute § 316.2953. Detectives said no one entered or exited the vehicle while it sat in the school lot, but they continued following it after it left the grounds and eventually conducted a traffic stop near Northwest 13th Avenue and 123rd Street.
Once stopped, the outlet reports a detective saw a loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun on the front passenger-side floorboard, within reach of 18-year-old front-seat passenger Garvens Jean-Philippe. In the rear bench seat, deputies said they found a loaded Milsport .300 BLK-caliber AR-style pistol positioned within reach of 17-year-old Kanarious Jerome Harris, who was seated directly behind it. Neither weapon was securely encased, which matters under Florida law: firearms carried inside vehicles on school grounds are only legal if they are locked away or otherwise not readily accessible, per the state's statute.
Driver Says He Owns the Guns, Didn't Know the Law
The vehicle's driver, 21-year-old Garlens Junior Jean-Philippe of North Miami, claimed ownership of both firearms and acknowledged that the AR-style pistol had been left within Harris's reach in the back seat, the station's report states. He reportedly told detectives he was unaware that the law prohibited leaving the weapon accessible to Harris. Garlens was charged with illegal possession of a firearm on school property and one count of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child.
Garvens Jean-Philippe, also of North Miami and seated in the front passenger seat, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm on school property and illegal possession of a firearm by a minor, since he is under 21. Under Florida Statute § 790.065(13), enacted after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, anyone under 21 is barred from purchasing a firearm in the state. Both men were booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bonds were listed as to be set as of Wednesday, per the outlet's account.
Felony Charges Carry Steep Penalties Under State Law
Possessing a firearm on school property in Florida is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Florida Statute § 790.115. Seventeen-year-old Harris, the rear-seat passenger, was transported to a juvenile assessment center; authorities have not released a mugshot or details of any charges filed against him. Under Florida law, unlawful firearm possession by a minor is treated as a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense, carrying mandatory community service and the possibility of secure detention, according to guidance cited by Musca Law.
Investigators have not said why the Mercedes was already under surveillance before it arrived at the school, and it remains unclear what prompted detectives to track the vehicle in the first place. The outlet also reported that the car was known to law enforcement because its driver had previously fled from an unrelated incident, though further details on that earlier encounter were not disclosed. What formal charges or juvenile petition Harris may face has also not been made public.
Latest in a String of Weapons Incidents Near North Miami-Dade Campuses
Miami Central High School, located at 1781 NW 95th St., has drawn scrutiny over gun-related incidents before. Just Tuesday, Miami-Dade prosecutors cleared a deputy involved in a December 2025 traffic stop directly outside the same campus, in which a fleeing driver nearly struck an officer and left a gun behind in an abandoned car. In January 2024, a shooting following a basketball game between Miami Central and Miami Northwestern Senior High left two teenagers wounded in adjacent parking lots, prompting community calls for stronger campus security.
The incident also follows a February arrest at nearby Miami Northwestern Senior High, where a 25-year-old man was caught bringing a loaded .357 Magnum revolver onto campus inside a backpack, and a July arrest at the SEED School of Miami, where a teacher was accused of pepper-spraying an ex-partner inside a classroom. Miami-Dade schools have also ramped up preparedness efforts, staging a large-scale active shooter response exercise at John A. Ferguson High School on July 31, continuing an annual rehearsal program that was hosted at Miami Central in 2024.
