Palm Coast Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Illegal Possession Of A Firearm And Possession With Intent To Distribute Cocaine Base

 Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Jerard Keaton Davis (35, Palm Coast) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine base. The court also ordered Davis to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he had possessed as part of the offense. 

Davis had been found guilty on April 14, 2021, after a bench trial. 

According to court documents, on July 26, 2018, during the execution of a search warrant at Davis’s place of business in Palm Coast, Davis was found in possession of a loaded .380 caliber pistol, a quantity of cocaine base, and drug distribution paraphernalia. At the time, Davis had multiple prior felony convictions, including four convictions for sale of narcotics or possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute them, and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.

“We greatly appreciate our Safe Neighborhoods partnership with ATF, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “Jerard Davis had been terrorizing the nearby businesses and selling poison in our community for a long time. We appreciated the significant sentence he received to federal prison.”

“Removing firearms and ammunition from the hands of armed narcotics traffickers, especially those who are convicted felons, is at the forefront of ATF’s mission,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Craig W. Saier. “This sentencing is another great example that working jointly with our law enforcement partners makes our communities safer.”

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.