Two Gainesville men will serve a combined 12 years and nine months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as convicted felons, after a loaded gun found in the centre console of their car during a 2024 traffic stop was matched by DNA to both of them. Kelvin Quentin Scott Wright, 32, was sentenced to four years and nine months, and Reginald Duante Davis, 36, was sentenced to eight years, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida announced on November 12.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
The sentences were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. "This successful prosecution ensures these dangerous, armed criminals will be kept off our streets for several years," Heekin said. "Our state and federal law enforcement partners are committed to keeping our communities safe, and my office will continue to back up their efforts with aggressive prosecutions of dangerous criminals to ensure our citizens get the crime-free streets and neighborhoods they deserve."
The April 2024 traffic stop in Alachua County
Court records reflect that on April 12, 2024, deputies with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office stopped a vehicle for multiple traffic violations. Wright was driving and Davis was the front-seat passenger. Both men were prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition because of prior felony convictions. During a probable-cause search of the vehicle, deputies located a loaded firearm in the centre console, along with marijuana, oxycodone and nearly 28 grams of crack cocaine. The DNA of both defendants was found on the firearm in various locations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Two different paths to sentencing
The co-defendants reached this point by different routes. Wright previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Davis went to trial: a federal jury in Gainesville found him guilty after a two-day trial, in a verdict announced on July 31, Main Street Daily News reported at the time. That verdict was Davis's second conviction for possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, and both men, who have multiple prior felony convictions, faced up to 15 years in federal prison. Sentencing had originally been scheduled for October 20 at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor, according to the July reporting; the sentences were formally announced on November 12.
"Keeping firearms out of the hands of convicted felons is critical to protecting our communities from more violence," said Jason Carley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Jacksonville division. "The FBI will always work closely with our partners to identify repeat offenders and hold them accountable for their actions. This case highlights the importance of how strong partnerships make a real difference in keeping our communities safe."
Alachua County Sheriff Chad D. Scott said: "The federal sentencing in this case underscores our commitment to keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons. I am grateful for the strong partnership between our deputies, federal agencies, and prosecutors who work together every day to protect the safety of Alachua County."
Background: Project Safe Neighborhoods
The case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt. It falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice's nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors together to combat violent crime, coordinated by U.S. Attorneys' offices in each of the 94 federal districts. The Justice Department describes PSN's core principles as a rapid federal response to violent crime, strong partnerships among law enforcement at all levels, and accountability through prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offences. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
Neither man was holding the gun when deputies searched the car — it was in the shared centre console, with marijuana, oxycodone and nearly 28 grams of crack cocaine. Prosecutors tied both men to the single firearm through DNA found on it in various locations, which is what turned a traffic stop for multiple violations into two federal felon-in-possession cases.
What happens next
Both men now begin their federal prison terms — eight years for Davis, whose case went through a jury trial and who had a prior conviction for the same offence, and four years and nine months for Wright, who pleaded guilty. For Alachua County, the case closes a prosecution that began with a roadside stop in April 2024 and ran through an indictment, a guilty plea, a two-day jury trial and, this week, sentencing in the Northern District of Florida.