Florida man with multiple convictions is sentenced again

FLORIDA – A Florida man with multiple convictions found with a loaded weapon in his car has been sentenced to prison.

U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell this week sentenced Cambrel Jamal Smart, 29, of Fort Lauderdale, to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Smart to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he illegally possessed.

Smart pleaded guilty on December 1, 2022.

According to court documents, on January 5, 2022, at around 3 a.m., a Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a vehicle Smart was reportedly driving after it was observed traveling at a high rate of speed on I-75 in Collier County. The car was searched after a trooper reportedly smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and observed a clear plastic baggy containing a green leafy substance, believed to be marijuana, in the center console.

Upon searching the vehicle, a trooper reportedly found a loaded firearm between the front and back passenger-side seats. The firearm was said to be loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, subsequent DNA testing linked the firearm to Smart, who is a multi-convicted felon. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition under federal law.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Florida Highway Patrol investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Trent Reichling prosecuted it.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence,