Source: United States Department of Justice News
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Dontae Deshawn Edwards (31, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to knowingly making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Edwards faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, on October 20, 2021, Edwards knowingly made a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer on the ATF Form 4473. Edwards stated that he was not a convicted felon when, in fact, he had previously been convicted of several felonies, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis and driving while license suspended or revoked – felony habitual offender (four counts).
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cyrus P. Zomorodian.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.