Matthew Reid Davisson, Possessing Destructive Devices, Florida 2023

A Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to possessing destructive devices without registering them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Matthew Reid Davisson (35, Jacksonville) faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set on the charge of possessing destructive devices, which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

According to court documents, Davisson was arrested on unrelated state charges on October 26, 2023. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives subsequently received information that Davisson had large amounts of chemicals and possible grenades at his residence in Jacksonville.

After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement recovered two improvised explosive bombs, one improvised explosive grenade, items constituting combinations of parts from which three improvised explosive grenades could be readily assembled, quantities of homemade high explosives and detonators, large volumes of explosive precursor chemicals, and homemade explosive manufacturing equipment.

One of Davisson’s family members also surrendered one of Davisson’s firearms to law enforcement, which was later determined to be an unregistered machinegun with an unregistered homemade silencer attached to the barrel.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Rachel Lasry.

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.

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