Zellwood Cocaine and Firearms Dealer Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Federal Prison

ORLANDO, FL—U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces today that U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway sentenced Brandon Denard Smith (27, Zellwood) to 123 months in federal prison for possession of firearms by a convicted felon, distribution of cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Smith pled guilty on February 2, 2012.

Smith was charged in September 2011 as part of Operation Woodchop, an investigation into two neighborhood-based street gangs in the Orange and Lake County areas. This joint federal, state, and local effort targeted firearms offenders, drug dealers, and violent criminals in the Zellwood and Tangerine communities. To date, this multi-agency investigation has led to the arrest of approximately 60 individuals who have been charged in federal and state court.

According to court documents, during the summer of 2010, Smith sold firearms and cocaine on multiple occasions. Four of the seven firearms sold by Smith were stolen. The weapons sold included assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Smith is a previously convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mount Dora Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr.