Convicted Felon Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Possessing A Firearm

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger has sentenced Malcolm Bellamy (25, Orlando) to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Bellamy to forfeit the firearm which was used during the commission of the offense. Bellamy pleaded guilty on June 6, 2024.

According to court documents, on April 21, 2023, an individual called 911 to report that the driver of a vehicle, whom he later identified as Bellamy, had just pulled out a gun and fired it at him. Officers from the Orlando Police Department responded to the scene and observed an individual standing in the street having a verbal confrontation with the occupants of a blue sedan. The vehicle immediately drove away as officers were approaching in their marked cars. The individual in the street pointed at the vehicle and stated, “that’s them”.

Officers pursued the vehicle which pulled into the driveway of Bellamy’s residence in a nearby neighborhood. The front passenger exited the car with a black object in his hand. Officers gave the passenger commands to get on the ground. The passenger, who had gone behind a tree approximately four feet from the car with the black object in his hand, returned to the vehicle without the object and laid on the ground. The driver, who was later identified as Bellamy, got out of the car and was also detained.

Officers searched behind the tree and discovered an open black bag with a chrome 9mm Taurus handgun sticking out. The handgun’s magazine was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, a shell casing was discovered at the scene in the vicinity of the reported shooting.

DNA swabs collected from the firearm and a comparison sample taken from Bellamy were a match. A shell casing from the handgun was also matched to the shell casing recovered at the scene.

At the time of the incident, Bellamy was a convicted felon, with prior convictions for robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Lyons and Matthew Del Mastro.

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.