News from August 2023


Bradenton Man Arrested for Robbing Tampa Business With Firearm

News Release: TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Devon Floyd, 31, of Bradenton with one count of Hobbs Act robbery. If convicted, Floyd faces up to 20 years in federal prison.


Sarasota Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon

News Release: Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Marquis Henry Mack (33, Sarasota) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Mack faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.


Two Fugitives Arrested in Long Beach on Firearms, Narcotics Charges After 2-Hour Standoff

News Release: LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), working with Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) arrested two documented gang members who have been eluding law enforcement since 2021 for outstanding warrants originating out of Louisville, Kentucky.


Bradenton Man Arrested for Robbing Tampa Business With Firearm

News Release: Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Devon Floyd (31, Bradenton) with one count of Hobbs Act robbery. If convicted, Floyd faces up to 20 years in federal prison.


Fort Myers Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Firearm as a Convicted Felon

News Release: FORT MYERS, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced James Blanks, 27, of Fort Myers to 12 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, to be served consecutively to a 4-year state prison sentence he is currently serving. The court also ordered Blanks to forfeit the firearm and ammunition possessed during the offense. Blanks pleaded guilty on May 4.


Citrus County Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Multiple Firearms

News Release: Ocala, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Timothy James Roberts (28, Hernando) has pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered National Firearms Act (NFA) weapon-a short-barreled shotgun-and two counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Roberts faces a maximum ...


New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating Federal Gun Control Act

News Release: NEW ORLEANS, LA - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MICHAEL CRAWFORD, age 27, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court on one count of Possession of a Firearm After a Felony Conviction, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).


Grand Prairie Man Sentenced to Federal Prison in Connection With Donut Shop Robberies

News Release: SHERMAN, Texas - A second man has been sentenced to federal prison in connection with a string of violent home invasion type robberies in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.


Violent Felon Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm

News Release: INDIANAPOLIS- Thomas Burkett, 45, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been sentenced to 77 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.


Leesburg Man Sentenced for the Unlicensed Sale of Firearms

News Release: ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Leesburg man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for selling at least nine firearms, for a profit and without a license, that he originally purchased from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) in the Eastern District of Virginia.


Alabama Man Sentenced to Over 26 Years in Prison for Robberies and Firearm Offenses

News Release: JACKSON, Miss. - An Anniston, Alabama, man was sentenced to 314 months in prison for two counts of robbery, two counts of using or carrying a firearm in connection with crimes of violence and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.


Clay County Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Drug and Firearm Charges

News Release: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Shawntae Jamell Clark, 44, of Clay County has pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Clark faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 ...


Laredo Resident Indicted for Distributing Fentanyl Causing the Death to a Juvenile

News Release: LAREDO, Texas - A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a 22-year-old resident of Laredo for distributing Fentanyl which caused the death of a juvenile, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.


Florida Couple Indicted for Multiple Federal Firearms Violations

News Release: OCALA, Fla. - U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of a 39-count indictment charging Kingsley Wilson, 35, of Kissimmee and Viviana Rodriguez, 41, of Kissimmee with dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) ...


New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal Gun Control Act

News Release: NEW ORLEANS - Melvin Walker, 35, a resident of Westwego, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey to 37 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for violating the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. On May 11, Walker pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).


Chillicothe, Illinois, Man Sentenced for Setting Fire to Reproductive Health Services Facility

News Release: PEORIA, Ill. - A Chillicothe, Illinois, man, was sentenced today for the arson of the Planned Parenthood Peoria Health Center in Peoria, Illinois.


Lansing Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Illegal Gun Possession

News Release: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Davion Shymarri Shaltry, 19, of Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. Shaltry will be on supervised release for three years after he is released from prison.


Four From Peoria Charged With Conspiring To Steal Firearms From Licensed Dealers in Spring Valley, Taylorville, Le Roy, Lincoln, Decatur, and Bloomington

News Release: PEORIA, Ill. - A federal criminal complaint filed Aug. 21 charges four people from Peoria, Illinois, with conspiring to steal firearms from six different locations in central Illinois between Aug. 14 and 18. Terrence Daniels, 23, Dezmond Hardy, 22, Erika Garner, 21, and Shaleik Ward, 19, are each charged ...


Abingdon Meth Trafficker Sentenced to 90 Months in Federal Prison

News Release: ABINGDON, Va. - An Abingdon man, who conspired with two other people to distribute methamphetamine throughout southwest Virginia, was sentenced Tuesday to 90 months in federal prison.


Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Discharge of a Weapon Resulting in Death Related to a Murder-For-Hire

News Release: Baltimore, Maryland - Tyrik Braxton, a/k/a “Son-Son," age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death, in connection with a murder-for-hire conspiracy.