Roger William Clayton, Firearms Trafficking, Florida 2025

Tampa, Florida – In a harsh sentencing, U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has given Roger William Clayton (41, Arcadia) a five-year consecutive sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

This sentence will run consecutively to a nine-year sentence Clayton is currently serving in Florida state prison for methamphetamine trafficking. Clayton pleaded guilty on January 14, 2025.

According to court documents, on July 28, 2022, Clayton sold five firearms to an undercover ATF agent in Arcadia. Clayton directed the undercover agent to meet him near Southwest Lettuce Lake Avenue and County Road 761, where Clayton revealed the firearms for sale.

The firearms included a Ruger Mini-14 .223 caliber rifle, a Mauser 6.5 caliber rifle, a VZ24 6.5 caliber rifle, a Tokarev 7.62mm caliber pistol, and a Romarm-Cugir 7.62mm pistol. Clayton advised the undercover agent that he could also facilitate the sale of suppressors or silencers and ‘ghost guns’ – also known as privately manufactured firearms which cannot be traced.

At the time, Clayton had multiple prior felony convictions including grand theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle, trafficking in stolen property, possession of a place for the purpose of trafficking, fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, and robbery. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David W.A. Chee and Michael J. Buchanan.

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.

Mandatory Facts:

• Defendant/respondent: Roger William Clayton

• Exact criminal charges: Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon

• City and state: Tampa, Florida

• EXACT DATE with month/day/year: January 14, 2025 (sentencing date), July 28, 2022 (crime date)

• Sentence or outcome: Five years in federal prison, consecutive to a nine-year sentence in Florida state prison

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