Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Two Lakeland Men Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in Connection With Drive-By Shooting of 11 Men in Lakeland
TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Nicholas Quinton Hanson (31, Lakeland) and Marcus Dewonn Mobley, Jr. (23, Lakeland) have pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition, and possessing a firearm and ammunition, respectively, as convicted felons. Each faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.
According to the plea agreements, on January 30, 2023, 11 individuals were shot in a drive-by shooting carried out from a blue Nissan Altima near Iowa Avenue and Plum Street in Lakeland. Mobley owned a blue Nissan Altima. Evidence collected from Hanson and Mobley’s cellphones showed they communicated prior to, and after, the shooting. Hanson and Mobley’s DNA was recovered from spent shell casings found at the scene of the shooting. At the time, Hanson and Mobley both had prior felony convictions and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension (SPARTA) unit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Lakeland Police Department, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
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 of Justice 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.
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