Armed Career Criminal Sentenced

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Jerome Miller, Jr. (39, Tampa) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as an Armed Career Criminal. The court also ordered Miller to forfeit the ammunition and a firearm. Miller had pleaded guilty on May 23, 2023. Miller qualified as an Armed Career Criminal based on his extensive prior criminal history which included three prior delivery of cocaine convictions in Tampa.

According to court documents, on February 6, 2022, Miller went to the victim’s residence in Tampa, threatened the victim with a firearm, and demanded his vehicle. The victim was forced to sign over his vehicle to Miller. Miller then took the vehicle registration and car keys and left the residence. Law enforcement officers were called to the residence to complete a report of the robbery and interview the victim. The victim’s vehicle was reported stolen and entered into law enforcement databases. Two days later, Miller was located while driving the victim’s vehicle and was arrested and searched. A loaded magazine and narcotics were found in Miller’s coat pocket during the search. The magazine contained six rounds of Aguila .380 caliber ammunition. The officers also located a semi-automatic firearm in the vehicle’s center console. That firearm was loaded with eight rounds of Aguila .380 ammunition. The firearm was impounded and sent for further forensic DNA testing.  The testing concluded that Miller’s DNA was on the firearm.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maria Guzman.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve, to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.