Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Antonio Morrow (42, St. Petersburg) to eight years and five months in federal prison, for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and hydromorphone, and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Morrow had pleaded guilty on May 1, 2019.

According to court documents, on December 1, 2018, officers from the St. Petersburg Police Department initiated a traffic stop of Morrow’s car, after witnessing him fail to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. The officers noticed the smell of marijuana as they approached Morrow’s car. When the officers removed Morrow from his car and collected his identification card to run a records check, Morrow ran away. He went a short distance before tripping and falling down. As he was falling, Morrow attempted to discard a firearm and a small bag of cocaine. The officers recovered the firearm and cocaine and also recovered $2,726 from Morrow’s person during a pat down search. The officers also found 30 hydromorphone pills and 18 pieces of cocaine base in Morrow’s car.

This case was investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.