A man pulling a wagon while riding an e-scooter near USF Beard Drive and Alumni Drive caught the attention of University of South Florida police officers early this week, and it did not take long for the encounter to unravel into a felony case involving a stolen scooter, a weapon and suspected narcotics. Officers say 40-year-old Dwayne S. Bryant fled on foot when they approached, but he did not get far before being caught and arrested.
According to Tampa Bay 28, USF Police officers recognized suspicious circumstances involving Bryant and quickly learned he matched the description in a BOLO alert tied to an incident at Juniper-Poplar Hall, a residential complex on Beard Drive. That building is one of the largest on USF's Tampa campus, a seven-story complex that opened in 2009 and houses more than 1,300 students alongside classrooms, administrative offices and a central dining hall, according to University of South Florida Housing & Residential Education. Officers connected Bryant to an ongoing investigation and chased him down a short time later once he fled on foot.
What Officers Say They Found
The e-scooter Bryant had been riding while pulling a wagon was reported stolen, the outlet's report notes. During the arrest, USFPD officers recovered a weapon, drug paraphernalia and suspected narcotics from Bryant, resulting in what police described as an arrest, the recovery of stolen property, and the removal of suspected illegal drugs and a weapon from campus.
Bryant, who is not affiliated with the University of South Florida, was booked into Hillsborough County Jail on a lengthy list of charges: dealing in stolen property, possession of a weapon on school property, possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer without violence. Those charges remain pending allegations, and Bryant's current court or bond status has not been detailed in available reporting.
Why the Charges Carry Steep Penalties
Under Florida Statute § 790.115, possessing a firearm or prohibited weapon on school property — including university campuses — is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Online Sunshine, Florida's official statutes portal. The dealing-in-stolen-property charge carries even steeper exposure: under Florida Statute § 812.019, that offense is a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, since Florida law treats trafficking in stolen goods more severely than the underlying theft itself.
USF Police Chief Chris Daniel said the arrest exemplified officers' proactive work to keep the campus community safe, per the department's account of the incident. Daniel, who was elected President of the Tampa Bay Area Chiefs of Police Association in 2023, leads a department that holds a three-time “Excelsior Agency” designation from the Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation, meeting more than 230 professional standards under Florida's state accreditation program, according to the University of South Florida Police Department.
A Campus Already on Alert for Scooter Thefts
Bryant's arrest comes amid a documented spike in motor vehicle thefts on USF's Tampa campus. Crime reporting published in September 2025 showed such thefts surged 60% in 2024 to 175 incidents, with 170 of those involving electric scooters or bicycles, according to The Oracle. The same reporting found USFPD logged 216 total arrests on campus in 2024, up from 138 the year before, including 21 weapons-related arrests and 187 drug-related arrests.
The university's growth has only added more foot and scooter traffic to patrol. USF serves nearly 50,000 total students across its campuses, and its main Tampa campus enrolled a record incoming class of nearly 7,000 freshmen for the 2025–2026 academic year after receiving 71,737 applications, per university figures.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Campus Coordination
USF Police have leaned on close coordination with county-level law enforcement in other recent cases. In April 2026, USFPD worked closely with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office during a high-profile missing persons investigation involving USF students that ultimately led to double murder charges against a suspect. As with that case, anyone arrested on USF's main campus is processed and detained through the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which operates county jail facilities including the Orient Road Jail.
The arrest adds to a string of public safety incidents Hoodline has tracked near USF this year, including a warrant arrest tied to student assault in March, an April bomb scare near campus, and a June double stabbing that left two people injured near campus boundaries.
