Convicted Felon Sentenced to 14.5 Years for Federal Firearm Offenses

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Darius D. Williams, 24, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 14.5 years in prison yesterday for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and for possession of a stolen firearm.  The sentence was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

During his guilty plea in February 2015, Williams admitted to knowingly possessing a stolen firearm, after prior convictions for felony offenses.  In the early morning hours of September 14, 2014, a person was shot in the head outside a Pensacola bar.  A responding law enforcement officer pursued a suspicious vehicle that was fleeing the scene of the shooting at a high rate of speed.  When the vehicle stopped, Williams jumped from the rear seat, holding a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol, and continued his flight on foot.  Williams was ultimately apprehended, and the arresting officer recovered the firearm that Williams had discarded during his flight.  Forensic tests revealed gunshot residue on Williams’s hands and clothes.  Williams’s DNA was also found on the firearm.  The victim of the shooting survived.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.