U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
Middle District of Florida

Middle District of Florida

www.justice.gov/usao/flm

For Immediate Release

February 23, 2012

Eight Time Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Gun Possession

Tampa, FL – U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara today sentenced Eric Lyron Davis (37, Tampa) to fifteen years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Davis pled guilty on November 21, 2011.

According to court documents, on May 23, 2011 and as part of the Click it or ticket! campaign, the Tampa Police Department (TPD) initiated an otherwise routine traffic stop for a driver and passenger failing to wear their seatbelts. Davis was the passenger in the vehicle. When the car finally came to a stop, Davis fled. As he fled, he tossed a Colt .38 caliber Cobra revolver, which law enforcement recovered. Davis was already an eight-time convicted felon and, based on the nature of the prior convictions, federally designated an Armed Career Criminal.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas N. Palermo.

It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice's "Project Safe Neighborhoods" program – a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy led by ATF. United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, along with Virginia O'Brien, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

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