Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan has sentenced Anthony Tyrone Mackey, a 41-year-old resident of Jacksonville, Florida, to seven years in federal prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. Mackey was found guilty by a federal jury on August 27, 2024.
Court documents and trial testimony revealed that on March 29, 2023, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office stopped Mackey for a traffic violation while he was driving on the wrong side of the road. He was alone in the vehicle at the time. A search of the vehicle uncovered cocaine and methamphetamine in the front passenger seat, along with a 12-gauge shotgun on the back passenger-side floorboard and a .25 caliber pistol in a backpack on the back passenger seat.
DNA analysis confirmed that Mackey's DNA was present on both the shotgun and its magazine. Previously convicted of seven felonies including possession of a short-barreled shotgun, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault, and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement officers, Mackey is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alongside the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys John Cannizzaro and Brenna Falzetta.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that unites various levels of law enforcement with communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence while enhancing neighborhood safety. The Department launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN on May 26, 2021. This strategy emphasizes fostering trust within communities, supporting organizations that prevent violence before it occurs, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes effectively.