Brandon Williams, Heroin and Gun Possession, Florida 2015

Bradenton man Brandon Williams, 31, is headed to federal prison for a decade after being caught with a loaded .40-caliber pistol and heroin during a June 2015 encounter that ended with him trying to ditch the evidence. A federal jury convicted him on November 10, 2016, and U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday delivered the 10-year sentence this week in Tampa, Florida.

On June 13, 2015, law enforcement closed in on Williams in Bradenton. As officers moved in on foot, a law enforcement aviation unit watched from above and saw Williams attempting to toss a firearm and narcotics before he was apprehended. The gun, a loaded semi-automatic, held nine rounds of .40 caliber ammunition—a weapon in the hands of a man legally barred from owning one.

Williams, a previously convicted felon, violated federal law simply by touching the gun or its ammunition. That same day, authorities also found heroin on his person—evidence prosecutors say proves he wasn’t just using, but dealing. He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and with knowingly possessing heroin with intent to distribute.

The case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, a collaboration that underscores the federal-state push to root out violent offenders in high-risk neighborhoods. The takedown is now counted as a win under the Department of Justice’s nationwide “Project Safe Neighborhoods” initiative.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Carlton C. Gammons handled the prosecution, successfully arguing for maximum consequences given Williams’ criminal history and the loaded weapon’s presence. The court also ordered forfeiture of the firearm and all associated ammunition used in the commission of the crime.

U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, and ATF Special Agent in Charge Daryl R. McCrary are leading the Middle District of Florida’s push under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a coordinated strategy targeting gun violence with federal muscle. Williams’ decade-long sentence sends a clear message: in high-stakes enforcement zones, loaded guns and drug trafficking don’t go unpunished.