Bradenton man sentenced to federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm
A 28-year-old Bradenton man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Prosecutors say 10 firearms were discovered in the trunk of Terrance Johnson Jr. by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies after they responded to a shooting near 31st Avenue East in Bradenton and found several spent cartridge casings in the road in front of where Johnson lived.
Several bullet holes were in a window of a home facing the street, and detectives said during a search of Johnson’s home they discovered spent cartridge casings on the floor in the front room of the home, narcotics, around $27,000 cash and DVR equipment.
Deputies say they went on to search a sedan parked in the driveway of the home and found 10 firearms in the vehicle’s trunk, including an AK-style 7.62 mm caliber “MAK90 Sporter” Norinco rifle.
Recovered footage from the DVR showed Johnson exiting his home on the morning on Feb. 19, 2023, carrying the Norinco rifle, which prosecutors say he then placed inside the trunk of his sedan.
During an interview with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Johnson confessed to possessing the rifle as a convicted felon, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
In the interview, prosecutors say Johnson identified himself as holding the same rifle as depicted in a screenshot taken from the DVR from that date.
Johnson pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon on June 26, 2023, and was recently sentenced to seven years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, according to a release.
Johnson had previously been convicted of armed burglary with a firearm and armed burglary of a dwelling in 2013, court records show.
The latest firearm case was investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David W.A. Chee.
The case was part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that aims to bring together law enforcement and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence.
