GPD Detective Taken into Federal Custody, Faces Decades in Prison
On Monday, a Gainesville Police spokesperson told the Alachua Chronicle that Detective Kelvin Mattair, 46, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The nature of the federal case isn’t currently clear, but court records show Mattair is facing serious charges in Alachua County Criminal Court. It hasn’t been verified if the local charges are directly related to the FBI’s arrest of Mattair.
Mattair faces four counts of obstructing a criminal investigation, three counts of fraud/abuse and one count of illegal interception of communications. Combined, the charges carry a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison.
Mattair’s troubles for the City of Gainesville didn’t start recently.
According to a 2019 Gainesville Sun article, “In 2011, Kelvin Mattair, then a non-city employee who worked with the nonprofit Black on Black Crime Task Force, was driving a Reichert House van when he crashed into another vehicle stopped at a red light. The city settled a lawsuit in 2013 with the victims for $180,000. Mattair was later hired to work at Reichert House as a city employee, despite a GPD officer recommending against it. Mattair is [John] Alexander’s cousin and was hired for the same position as two other people. He received about $3,000 more for his annual salary. Records submitted to the city’s human resources department show there are two claims of possible nepotism from Reichert House employees, though Alexander denies both.”
In 2004, Mattair was charged with shooting or throwing a deadly object into an occupied vehicle; however, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and prosecutors dropped it outright after Mattair joined the military, court records show.
In 2008, Mattair faced charges of driving without a license and tampering with evidence but he was only convicted of the former, court records show.
GnvInfo will publish more information about Mattair’s current arrest after it is obtained.
