Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the results of firearms prosecutions for fiscal year 2020 (FY20). In FY20, the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) has charged more than 200 individuals with violations of federal firearms laws. Charges arose from armed robberies, possession of firearms and ammunition by convicted felons, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking and violent crimes, and false statements in relation to gun purchases.
“Fighting violent crime and keeping our citizens safe continues to be a paramount priority for the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida,” said United States Attorney Chapa Lopez. “Despite some recent changes in priorities in some of our local law enforcement agencies, we hope to continue to work together with our dedicated and courageous law enforcement partners to remain laser-focused on holding violent criminals accountable, reducing gun violence, and protecting our communities.” Several firearms cases have resulted in significant sentences in FY20, throughout all five divisions of the MDFL. Highlights from each division are summarized below.
United States vs. Jimmy Ray Lightsey
On September 17, 2020, in Jacksonville, Jimmy Ray Lightsey (40, Jacksonville) was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to testimony presented at trial, on June 24, 2018, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Lightsey for driving without a valid license. A 9mm pistol and a bag of marijuana were observed, in plain view, inside Lightsey’s car. A search of the vehicle revealed additional marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, and empty baggies used for packaging narcotics. The pistol was later determined to have been stolen from a home in Jacksonville approximately two weeks earlier. At the time of the incident, Lightsey had multiple prior felony convictions, including for the sale or delivery of cocaine and attempted armed robbery with a weapon. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Beatriz Gonzalez. For additional details, see press release.
United States vs. Anthony Kenty Soto-Lopez et al
In Orlando, on September 29, 2020, Anthony Kenty Soto-Lopes was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for charges arising from the straw purchase of firearms. Soto-Lopes’s co-defendants, Misael Adorno-Ortega, Ivan Jomar Melendez-Ortiz, and Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez were sentenced to federal prison – 84 months, 37 months, and 8 months, respectively. According to court records, between October 2018 and July 2019, Adorno-Ortega and Soto-Lopes employed Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Melendez-Ortiz as straw purchasers to purchase 52 firearms. The straw purchasers falsely indicated on ATF forms that they were the actual transferees/buyers of the firearms, when in fact, they were purchasing the firearms for Adorno-Ortega and Soto-Lopes, who were prior convicted felons on supervised release. This case was investigated by ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chauncey Bratt and Amanda Daniels. For additional details, please see press release.
United States vs. Charlie Lee Wright, Jr.
In Ocala, on August 28, 2020, Charlie Lee Wright, Jr. (52, Summerfield) was sentenced to 17 years and 7 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to the evidence presented at the trial, Wright has 28 prior felony convictions. On January 16, 2019, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Wright’s home looking for stolen jewelry. During the search, detectives located numerous firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. One of the recovered firearms was a mini-14 rifle, a semi-automatic firearm capable of accepting a high-capacity magazine. This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr. For additional details, please see press release.
United States vs. Jarquel Jenkins
In Fort Myers, on February 20, 2020, Jarquel Jenkins (28, Fort Myers) was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison for drug distribution and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to court documents, on three separate occasions in January and February 2019, Jenkins sold heroin and cocaine to confidential informants. In February 2019, following a controlled purchase of narcotics from Jenkins, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Jenkins, who fled from a parked vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers seized various quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, as well as a loaded firearm from the vehicle’s cup holder. The case was investigated by ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Reichling. For additional details, please see press release.
United States vs. Jordan Rodriguez et al
In Tampa, on February 5, 2020, Jordan Rodriguez (Bradenton, 26) was sentenced to three life terms of imprisonment for gang racketeering and murder. His co-defendants, Alfonzo Churchwell (Bradenton, 32) and Andrew Thompson (Bradenton, 25), were also sentenced to multiple life terms. According to evidence presented during the three and half week jury trial, the defendants had engaged in a violent and deadly rivalry with others in Oneco, a community in Bradenton. The individuals worked together to traffic in controlled substances and to control and protect their drug business with violence and murder. Rodriguez, Churchwell, and Thompson were responsible for at least four murders. Their racketeering enterprise maintained a “trap house” that was used to distribute heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs. This case was investigated by ATF, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Attorney’s Office (Twelfth Judicial Circuit). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natalie Hirt Adams and Christopher F. Murray. For additional details, please see press release.
Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws are amongst the Department’s highest priorities. In order to develop a new and robust effort to promote and ensure public safety, the Department has reviewed and adapted some of the successes of past strategies to curb gun violence. Project Guardian draws on the Department’s earlier achievements, such as the “Triggerlock” program, and serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In addition, the initiative emphasizes the importance of using all modern technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.
The USAO-MDFL works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to vigorously enforce federal laws related to violent crime and the illegal possession of firearms. Recently charged cases are summarized in the table below.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Name
Charges
AUSA/Division
Kermon Williams (42, St. Petersburg),
Jahphre Higgs (36, St. Petersburg),
James Higgs (40, St. Petersburg)
See press release.
1. Conspiring to commit a murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958 (All)
2. Committing a murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958 and 2 (All)
3. Conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (All)
4. Attempting to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (The Higgs)
5. Felons in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Both Higgs)
6. Use and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes , in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and (j), and 2 (All)
7. Use and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and (j), and 2 (All)
8 .Felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Jhaphre Higgs)
9. Felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Jhaphre Higgs)
Natalie Adams, Tampa
Wilmer Rosales (23, Plant City),
Joel Sierra (25, Plant City)
See press release.
1. Drug conspiracy, 21 U.S.C. § 846 (both defendants)
4. Discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, causing the death of Grant Urquhart, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and (j) (Rosales).
5. Felon-in-possession of a firearm and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Rosales).
6. Possession of a firearm in a school zone, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2) (Rosales)
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year