Florida career criminal sentenced to nearly 23 years in prison

FLORIDA — A Clearwater man described as a career criminal has been sentenced to nearly 23 years in prison for possessing a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida has announced.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO), U.S. District Judge Katherine Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Aunyis Cherry, 27, of Clearwater, to 22 years and 11 months in prison. The prison sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Cherry also has been ordered to forfeit the firearm. A jury found Cherry guilty on June 16, 2022, the USAO said.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Cherry drove a car with a counterfeit license plate in the area of 14^th Street South in St. Petersburg. A uniformed detective with the St. Petersburg Police Department arrived in the area to conduct a traffic stop, and Cherry is said to have fled from the car but was apprehended.

The vehicle’s owner couldn’t be determined, and an inventory search reportedly revealed a loaded FN Herstal pistol. The jury heard testimony that Cherry’s DNA was located in three places on the firearm, including the handle and trigger.

As a previously convicted felon, Cherry is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

The case was investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Gordon and Craig Gestring and was tried by Assistant United States Attorneys Samantha Beckman and James Preston.