A Miami teen was arrested in Gainesville on Wednesday night after he was found in an apartment with drugs, firearms and stolen property.
Gainesville Police officers found Manuel Chaviano, 16, when they responded to a call Wednesday night at Lexington Crossing apartment complex, GPD spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg said.
"The officers knocked on the door of F102, and when it was opened, a cloud of pot smoke hit them in the face," Kameg said.
Officers found 8 grams of powdered crack cocaine, 11 grams of marijuana and four handguns with Chaviano, Kameg said.
Chaviano told police he had been trading the cocaine and marijuana for guns.
Kameg said Chaviano had just been released from probation in Miami on Oct. 29 for similar charges.
"It is common for someone who has a drug problem to steal guns and sell them to drug dealers for cocaine," Kameg said. "The drug dealer will then sell it to someone who wants to buy a gun."
Police determined that one of the four guns, a .45-caliber pistol, had been stolen in a Gainesville burglary in January, Kameg said.
The GPD tactical impact unit is investigating the case, and Chaviano is being held in a detention center, Kameg said.
