Terrell Bradley, voter fraud and animal cruelty top crime stories in 2022. Here's a review

Gainesville witnessed an uptick in crime in 2022 with a slew of gun-related incidents and car burglaries. But nothing quite compares to what happened to a man after being pulled over one night this past summer.

Terrell Bradley is a name that few in the Gainesville area will ever forget. The 30-year-old lost his right eye following a July 10 traffic stop, where a K-9 was dispatched after Bradley fled from an officer, and it was discovered that he was a convicted felon and had a stolen gun in his car.

The K-9 apprehension also resulted in Bradley suffering two broken fingers and spinal leakage.

Bradley’s arrest sparked protests, community outrage and received wide-spread media coverage, even nationally.

Bloody arrest:A Gainesville man lost his eye after a police K-9 attack. Community members demand answers

More:Family, friends launch 'people's investigation' to defend Terrell Bradley following arrest

Ultimately, five officers were disciplined for misconduct behind the incident, including Andrew Milman, who pulled Bradley over.

Inconsistencies surrounding the cause of Bradley’s traffic stop and eventual arrest also fueled concerns among policy makers, leading Gainesville City Commission Desmond Duncan-Walker to call a special meeting to discuss the future of GPD’s K-9 unit.

Bradley has since pleaded not guilty to five charges from the arrest, including possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis, two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, and resisting an officer without violence.

His next court date is set for Jan. 10, where his attorney, Curtis B. Lee, and the prosecution will meet for their second pre-trial conference.

In the meantime, city staffers are expected to bring back recommendations on what GPD would look like with either a modified version of its K-9 unit, or no unit at all after a new commission is sworn in in January.

Voter fraud

In another high-profile story that gained national attention, multiple men were charged – and some convicted – of voter fraud after being urged to vote in the 2020 general election by an Alachua County election official.

It all began with a pair of voter registration drives held at the Alachua County jail in 2020, which later spurred a ​series of complaints lodged by Gainesville database researcher Mark Glaeser, who identified potentially hundreds of illegal ballots cast by inmates around the state.

In April, State Attorney Brian Kramer's office charged 10 Alachua County inmates with several election crimes. Four of them have since accepted plea deals resulting in additional felony convictions. One inmate received an additional 10 months in prison, while three will have their sentences run concurrently.

Sentenced:Inmate charged in Alachua County voter fraud investigation gets 3-year sentence

More:Florida election officials offered inmates a chance to vote; it got them prosecuted

Before deciding to pursue charges, Kramer submitted a complaint to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement regarding the jail voter registration drives.

Though the elections office was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, Special Agent Tracy Rousseau of the FDLE found “the education component of the jail visits" was "lacking both quality and longevity.”

The passage of Amendment 4, which was approved by nearly two-thirds of Florida voters, was supposed to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions, except those convicted of murder or sexual offenses, who had completed their sentences. Subsequent changes about paying all fines, court courts and sentencing requirements confused many leading into 2020.

Later, Kramer received from the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office the names of nine other inmates who were formerly convicted of sex crimes who allegedly voted illegally.

Those names have since been forwarded to a newly created election police force, created by Gov. Ron DeSantis, for review.

But Kramer has said that even if the state declines to prosecute the nine, it will have no bearing on whether he decides to proceed with prosecutions.

Animal abuse

In April, Alachua County deputies arrested eight people for a combined 232 animal cruelty-related charges. Each was charged with 24 counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and five counts of unlawful disposal of a dead animal, a second-degree misdemeanor.

Those individuals were William Garcia, 27; Erin Douglas, 27; Kimberly Hicks, 43; Dawson Hicks, 22; William Ferguson Sr., 69; Debra Ferguson, 63; Stephanie Prentzler, 38; and Steven Lancaster, 60.

When deputies arrived in April at the Micanopy property, located at 17405 SE County Road 234, they reported discovering dozens of animals in poor shape. Some dogs were found locked in a kennel crawling over deceased dogs, while others were too weak to stand on their own.

Grim scene:Deputies discover skeletal remains, dogs crawling over dead dogs at Micanopy property

Cases resolved:2 sentenced, 2 others reach plea deals in mass animal cruelty case in Alachua County

Skeletal remains were also found, as well as each animal covered in fleas and ticks.

At least 18 dogs have been found alive in a neglected condition, with some having ribs protruding from their skin. A medium-sized pig was also found malnourished. The responding deputy said he could hear yelping and wailing animals in physical pain upon arrival.

Deputies described the residence as extremely dilapidated and not appearing to have electricity or running water. Animal feces littered the house and large mounds of trash filled the front yard of the residence with a camper that had an open waste line, allowing human feces to pour directly into the ground, according to an arrest report.

Since that time, five of the eight co-defendants have been convicted after entering plea deals.

Penalties, so far, have ranged from 240 days in jail to five years of probation. Defendants are also prohibited from ever possessing or caring for animals.

Javon L. Harris is a local government and social justice reporter for The Gainesville Sun. He can be reached by phone at (352) 338-3103, by email at jlharris@gannett.com or on Twitter @JavonLHarris_JD.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 2022 Gainesville: Terrell Bradley, voter fraud and animal cruelty