Orlando, Florida — Troy Bennett, 30, of Orange County, is headed to federal prison for 25 years after being convicted of selling a short-barreled rifle and crack cocaine to a confidential informant — a move that slammed shut the door on a criminal who had no legal right to possess a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza handed down the stiff sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act, citing Bennett’s history of multiple prior felony convictions. Those past crimes triggered the enhanced penalty, sealing his fate with a quarter-century behind bars for violations of federal gun laws and drug trafficking.
A federal jury found Bennett guilty on December 6, 2017, following a trial that laid bare his dealings with a government informant. Evidence showed that in two separate meetings in August 2017, Bennett sold crack cocaine and discussed firearm sales. In the second encounter, he delivered not just drugs, but a short-barreled rifle and 28 rounds of ammunition — all while barred from owning guns due to his felon status.
Bennett’s actions didn’t just break the law — they endangered the streets of Orlando. As a convicted felon, he was legally prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition under federal statute. Yet he moved both like currency, treating deadly weapons and narcotics as interchangeable commodities in a black-market economy.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kara M. Wick. Special Agent in Charge Daryl McCrary emphasized ATF’s mission: “ATF’s primary focus is protecting the public by reducing violent crime. We continue to aggressively pursue violent offenders.”
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Justice Department’s nationwide initiative to crush violent crime through coordinated federal, state, and local enforcement. Reinvigorated in October 2017 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, PSN remains a backbone strategy in the Middle District of Florida, where U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez leads the charge alongside law enforcement partners.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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