Jerome Stancil Gets 15 Years for Illegal Firearm Possession

Jerome Stancil, a 52-year-old felon from Jacksonville, is headed to federal prison for 15 years after being caught with a loaded .40 caliber pistol in his car. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan, slams the door on Stancil’s latest brush with the law — a law he’s repeatedly violated for decades.

Stancil was pulled over by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies for speeding — a routine stop that turned into a federal firearms case. Officers quickly noticed he was violating his state probation curfew and smelled marijuana inside his vehicle. That gave them probable cause to search. Under the driver’s seat, they found the loaded handgun. Stancil didn’t deny it was his. He told officers he kept it for protection — a claim that carries zero weight under federal law when you’re a multiple-time felon.

Court documents show Stancil’s criminal history is long and loaded with drug trafficking convictions out of Virginia. Those past felonies stripped him of his right to own or carry any firearm. Worse for Stancil, his rap sheet qualified him as an armed career criminal — a federal classification that triggers mandatory minimum sentences. That label turned a serious charge into a 15-year prison term.

Convicted after a bench trial on January 31, 2019, Stancil offered no jury drama, no last-minute appeals to innocence — just the cold facts of a man caught in possession of a weapon he was never allowed to touch. His admission that the gun was his sealed the case. No fingerprints needed. No ballistics drama. Just a felon, a firearm, and the federal statute that came crashing down on him.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot, who pushed for maximum accountability under the law. This wasn’t a first-time offender caught in a bad moment — it was a repeat offender operating in plain violation of federal restrictions.

This case is part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” (PSN) initiative, aimed at halting violent crime by targeting illegal gun possession in high-risk areas. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez oversees the program, coordinating federal, state, and local law enforcement to lock up offenders like Stancil before they escalate to more violent crimes. For now, at least, the streets of Jacksonville are down one armed felon.