Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jamaal Black (21, Riverview) to 15 years in federal prison for two armed robberies and discharging a firearm during one of the robberies. Black had pleaded guilty on January 26, 2023.

According to court documents, on January 30, 2021, Black entered a gas station in Riverview, pulled out a pistol with an extended magazine, aimed it at a clerk, and demanded money. Black attempted to go behind the counter when the clerk refused to give Black the money. Black engaged in an altercation with the clerk and shot the clerk in the arm during the struggle. The clerk fell to the ground. Black approached the clerk, aimed the firearm at the clerk, and repeated the demand for money. The clerk, bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound, complied. The clerk gave Black the contents of the cash register and Black escaped the gas station with $200.

Two months later, on March 14, 2021, Black committed another robbery. Black used a juvenile girl to arrange for a marijuana transaction. The girl went to a local drug dealer’s home under the guise of purchasing marijuana. Black approached the dealer when the dealer retrieved the marijuana for the sale. Black pressed a firearm to the drug dealer’s head and demanded the marijuana. The drug dealer threw the marijuana at Black and retreated back into the home.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.