An 18-year-old was arrested at St. Johns Town Center on Friday, September 18, after Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers say he stole more than $800 worth of merchandise from a store and was found carrying a loaded gun modified with an illegal switch that made it fully automatic. Je'Caryous Beasley ran from officers who tried to stop him before he was caught, according to police.
Backpack Full of Stolen Goods and a Loaded Weapon
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
, District 3 Town Center Patrol officers responded to a store at St. Johns Town Center after staff reported a young man in a white hoodie stuffing more than $800 worth of items into his backpack. Officers spotted a suspect matching that description and attempted to stop him, but he ran before they caught up with him, the sheriff's office said.
Inside Beasley's backpack, officers reported finding a loaded gun with a live round in the chamber, along with the stolen merchandise. The weapon reportedly had an illegal switch attached, a modification that converts a semi-automatic handgun into one capable of fully automatic fire. Beasley was arrested on felony charges of grand theft and carrying a concealed firearm, along with misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and resisting an officer without violence, per the same account.
What Florida Law Says About the Charges
Under Florida Statute § 812.014, stealing merchandise valued at $750 or more is classified as third-degree grand theft, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine, according to Hussein & Webber, PL. The firearm charge carries its own weight: Florida Statute § 790.01 classifies carrying a concealed firearm without legal eligibility or a permit as a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, as explained by Hornsby.com. Florida enacted permitless carry in July 2023, but carrying while ineligible or during the commission of another crime remains unlawful.
The switch found on the gun raises the stakes considerably. Federal law tightly regulates machine guns and parts used to create them, while Florida law prohibits machine guns. Switches alter a semi-automatic handgun's internal mechanism to fire automatically at extreme rates, a danger that has drawn growing scrutiny from both state and federal authorities.
A Wider Crackdown on Switches and Retail Theft
This case lands amid two intersecting law enforcement priorities in Northeast Florida. In September, federal agents in Jacksonville charged a 19-year-old local resident with manufacturing and selling more than 50 3D-printed Glock switches to an undercover ATF agent, part of a broader crackdown on illegal conversion devices in Duval County. Nationally, data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shows law enforcement recovered and traced more than 11,000 machine gun conversion devices between 2019 and 2023, a 784% increase over that span, according to Everytown Research & Policy.
Town Center patrol officers responded to the theft report at St. Johns Town Center. The outdoor mall opened in March 2005, per the Jacksonville Daily Record.
District 3 Town Center Patrol officers responded to the theft report at St. Johns Town Center. A National Retail Federation survey published in August found that while national shoplifting incidents fell 12.4% in 2025, retailers continue to face challenges involving fraud, repeat offenders and external theft, amid concerns about violence, as NJBIA reported.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers arrested Beasley after the reported theft.
