Jacksonville sheriff: 6 guns seized, 3 adults and 1 juvenile arrested in ‘Operation Safety Net’
A tip about a gun on Westside high school property after school hours led to several arrests and six guns seized by police.
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It happened around 4 p.m. in mid-February. Police said one suspect had a loaded gun in his waistband and said they tracked him down not far from the school. It unraveled evidence they say is linked to other crimes.
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JSO arrested Jaylin Orange, Jamaal Cobbert, Dominique Alexander and a juvenile. Orange’s arrest report said an Instagram live video showed him operating a dirt bike, where he showed gun several times while in the parking lot of Westside High school.
“Stands as a shining example of our commitment to protect our children, nothing is more important than our kids,” JSO Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
JSO said Orange and another man fled from the area, they found Orange and others at a home roughly a mile away. Investigators seized six guns from the investigation, three rifles, two handguns and a shotgun. Two of those guns, including Orange’s, had switches, which are devices that converted them to automatic weapons.
“I’m all for people owning guns but crime guns, illegal guns, prohibited guns, we want those off our streets and we work hard to make sure it’s done and hold those accountable who carry them,” Waters said. “We know all too often they end up in drive-by’s and all different kind of shootings.”
They also found 6, 7.62 caliber casings. All were examined by ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).
Through analysis, investigators found the following and matched them to previous shootings:
One of the handguns was used in a shooting in February 2022 on Jacksonville’s Westside.
One was rendered fully automatic by means of a firearm switch.
Another rifle was rendered fully automatic by means of firearm switch.
A recovered casing was positively matched to casings recovered at a May 2022 homicide scene.
A recovered casing was matched from a June 2022 shooting scene.
A recovered casing was positively matched to an August 2022 shooting into a dwelling scene.
Another casing recovered matched a January 2023 shooting into a dwelling scene.
“This highlights the agencies commitment to school safety and getting crime guns off our streets,” he said.
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JSO also said the Community Problem Response team has removed 130 crime guns from the streets this year alone. The suspects are all facing various charges and federal charges for the gun switches are being explored as well.
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