St. Petersburg Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Gun Possession
Tampa, Florida — United States District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Kelvin Danford (28, St. Petersburg) today to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony and for possessing crack cocaine. The court also ordered Danford to forfeit a firearm and 15 rounds of ammunition, which he possessed in connection with the above offense.
Danford pled guilty on April 17, 2012.
According to court documents, on November 11, 2011, Danford met with an individual to sell him crack cocaine. Unbeknownst to Danford, the individual was an undercover law enforcement officer. When Danford arrived to facilitate the transaction, he was arrested and his vehicle was searched. A loaded firearm and crack cocaine were found in the car. Danford was previously convicted of a felony, and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.
It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods
program – a nationwide, gun–violence reduction strategy led by ATF. United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, along with Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
###