After a three-day trial, Nathaniel Martin, 45, was found guilty by a Miami federal jury for possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The jury also determined that Martin qualified as an Armed Career Criminal due to his criminal history, which includes prior convictions for robbery, cocaine trafficking, and armed robbery.
Police were led to Martin after receiving a tip about a person of interest in an open investigation in Miami Gardens. Officers discovered Martin at the scene handling a bookbag and other items. The bookbag contained fourteen rounds of live ammunition, while another bag held two semiautomatic pistols and additional ammunition.
The trial presented further evidence including text messages where Martin discussed hiding his guns under a friend's bed, DNA evidence on the firearms, and recorded jail calls where he expressed regret over police recovering "the weapons."
Court documents revealed that one pistol matched shell casings from incidents in December 2023 and January 2024 in Miami Gardens.
U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez presided over the trial. Martin faces between fifteen years to life imprisonment with sentencing scheduled for May 2, 2025. The sentence will be determined following U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.
The verdicts were announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge John F. Dion Jr., from the ATF's Miami Field Division.
The ATF along with the Miami Gardens Police Department conducted the investigation while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sterling M. Paulson and Altanese Phenelus prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aimed at reducing gun violence through community cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
Further information can be accessed via the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida website or through related court documents on the District Court's site under case number 24-cr-20065.