Convicted Felon Sentenced To 20 Years For Illegally Possessing A Pistol And Ammunition Used In Two Murders

Savannah, Georgia – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney for the Middle District of Florida and Acting United States Attorney Tara M. Lyons for the Southern District of Georgia announce that Chief U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker has sentenced Victor McMillar (33, Savannah) to 20 years in prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Judge Baker also recommended that McMillar serve his prison sentence at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility as far from Savannah as possible. A federal jury found McMillar guilty on October 24, 2024. 

According to court documents and trial testimony, on November 3, 2018, McMillar fired eleven .40 caliber rounds from a Smith & Wesson pistol into the vehicle driven by a husband and wife down a residential street in Savannah. The couple was shot multiple times, and both were both transported to a hospital. The husband died from his gunshot wounds. His wife survived but suffered permanent injury. Two days later, McMillar shot and killed an acquaintance who had witnessed the first murder. This time McMillar used a Glock .40 caliber pistol and fired eleven times. The acquaintance was found dead in the street, struck by at least three bullets to his head. McMillar planted the Smith & Wesson pistol on the body of the second victim. DNA swabs taken from the Smith & Wesson pistol would later match to McMillar. 

Following the murders, McMillar was arrested by the Savannah Police Department and later indicted for the murders. McMillar was acquitted in Chatham County Superior Court on October 17, 2023. Following the acquittal, McMillar was indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. 

Prosecutors from the Middle District of Florida were assigned as Special Assistant United States Attorneys to prosecute McMillar. During preparation for trial, special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discovered that McMillar had attempted to erase a cellphone left at the first murder scene. The ATF agents obtained a search warrant for McMillar’s iCloud account, which McMillar failed to delete. McMillar’s iCloud account had several pictures of firearms taken on October 22, 2018, including a photograph of a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol, identical to the murder weapon. Additional cellphone forensic evidence placed McMillar at the scene of both murders.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Savannah Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Lasry and Frank Talbot.

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.