Multi-Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Possessing a Firearm and Controlled Substances
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Curtis Tyrone Johnson (35, Melbourne) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing with the intent to distribute various controlled substances. The court also ordered Johnson to forfeit a Glock .40 caliber pistol and ammunition traceable to the offense. A federal jury had found Johnson guilty on February 8, 2023.
According to evidence presented at trial, on March 25, 2022, the Melbourne Police Department and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, along with members of the DEA and FBI, were executing search warrants at two residences on Williams Street in Melbourne. While law enforcement moved in to set a perimeter, Johnson came jogging down the side of a residence holding a black bag. Upon making eye contact with law enforcement, Johnson took off running through backyards on Ryoland Street. Agents who followed Johnson observed him holding the black bag and a firearm. Johnson was given commands to put his hands in the air but instead threw the bag and firearm over a fence into a church parking lot. Both items were recovered. The firearm was determined to be a Glock .40 caliber pistol, loaded with 16 rounds of Winchester ammunition. The bag contained approximately 181 grams of methamphetamine, 35 grams of crack cocaine, 15 grams of fluorofentanyl, and 194 grams of N, N-Dimethylpentylone, a drug similar to MDMA.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Melbourne Police Department, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Beatriz Gonzalez and Sarah Megan Testerman.
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.
