Firefighter charged with giving alcohol to 5 teens

Deputies: Gainesville firefighter gave beer, wine coolers to teens in October

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A 32-year-old Gainesville firefigther accused of giving alcohol to a group of teens in October has been charged with five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child.

Jamal Hafiz was arrested Wednesday after he turned himself in at the Clay County Jail.

Deputies said Hafiz, who used to work as a firefigther in Clay County before taking a job in Alachua County, gave beer and wine coolers to five teens, ranging in age from 14 to 16, on Oct. 10.

According to the arrest warrant, Hafiz gave the alcohol to one of the teens, who was a friend, and the teen invited several friends over because school had been canceled because of damage from Hurricane Matthew.

One of the girls later confessed about the drinking to her mother. She told deputies the group played a drinking game with a deck of cards and that she drank three beers and three wine coolers, got drunk and passed out.

Hafiz is facing five misdemeanor charges.

The city of Gainesville released a statement about the arrest:

On Jan. 12, 2017, Gainesville Fire Rescue received notification of the arrest of one of its employees, entry level firefighter Jamal Hafiz in Clay County, for an offense which is alleged to have occurred in October 2016. The department has made immediate notification to appropriate city agencies and has initiated an administrative investigation into the incident. Firefighter Hafiz has been informed that an investigation has been initiated. Hafiz currently remains on active duty, but has been relieved of all additional duties pending the completion of the administrative investigation. Department staff and city officials will have no further comment until the investigation report is complete.