PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Pensacola convicted felon has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for illegal firearm charges and supervision violations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida has announced.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida (USAO), James Leroy Smith Jr., 38, of Pensacola, was sentenced to 134 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, and multiple violations of his federal supervised release conditions.
Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the firearm charges, and he was sentenced to an additional 14 months for his supervision violations to run consecutively to his firearm case, the USAO said.
“Senseless violence by armed felons endangers the pubic and results in serious consequences,” said Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
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“Our partners at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office are to be commended for their swift actions in apprehending this violent felon. Due to their efforts our community is safer, and this repeat offender is exactly where he belongs – back behind bars.”
Court records indicate Smith was arrested by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies on April 24, 2021, after allegedly shooting a black AR-style rifle loaded with rounds in a 100-round double-drum magazine at another car while driving through a Pensacola residential area. At the time, Smith was being supervised by the U.S. Probation Office following a prison sentence imposed for failure to register as a sex offender, the USAO said.
In addition to that federal offense, he had nine other felony convictions, including a prior conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a conviction for sexual battery, according to the USAO.
The sentence resulted from a joint investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Forbes prosecuted this case.
