Felon tracked by helicopter infrared camera pleads guilty to firearms charge

FLORIDA – A violent Florida felon with multiple convictions has pled guilty to illegally possessing a firearm, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

Shawn Lanier Lowman, Jr., 23, of Tampa, pleaded guilty last week to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg made the announcement.

Lowman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on the night of November 1, 2022, Lowman was a passenger in a black BMW 328i sedan that reportedly fled after officers from the Tampa Police Department (TPD) had attempted to conduct a traffic stop near the intersection of East Sligh Avenue and North Central Avenue, in the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa.

A short time later, TPD officers located the same black sedan in the Sulphur Springs neighborhood of Tampa, near the intersection of North Klondyke Street and East Bird Street. The car was eventually parked on the side of the road, and three occupants, including Lowman, reportedly exited the vehicle.

Two TPD officers attempted to make contact with Lowman, but Lowman fled on foot through the neighborhood, evading the officers. A TPD Air Service helicopter positioned above Sulphur Springs used a Forward Looking InfraRed (“FLIR”) camera to track Lowman as he reportedly fled through the neighborhood and into the backyard of a residence where he hid in a shed.

According to court documents, the helicopter’s FLIR camera was able to see the thermal signature of Lowman inside the shed. TPD officers converged on the shed and arrested Lowman.

Inside the shed, the officers said they located 10.9 grams of bagged cocaine. During a search of Lowman, officers reportedly recovered three pills that tested positive for oxycodone.

The officers then retraced Lowman’s path and said they found a backpack containing two loaded firearms: a Glock 9mm pistol and a Smith & Wesson Model 659 9mm pistol (loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition, including one in the chamber).

The backpack also reportedly contained a digital scale, an extended magazine (11 rounds), and a black ski mask. Latent fingerprints belonging to Lowman were located on the slide of the Glock pistol, and two of Lowman’s latent fingerprints were found on the magazine of the 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol, the USAO said.

In an interview with officers following his arrest, Lowman reportedly admitted that the fingerprints on the firearms belonged to him and that he had possessed the firearms.

Lowman had previously served approximately six years in state prison for armed carjacking with a deadly weapon and armed burglary in July 2017. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.