Felon Convicted of Drug and Firearm Charges

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – After a three-day jury trial, Kenneth Lamar Weathers, 27, of Pensacola, was convicted on July 11 of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon (two counts) and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.  The verdict was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In June 2017, while cleaning a hotel room, a housekeeper found a pistol under the mattress.  Weathers, who stayed in the room the night before the current occupant, was determined to have possessed the firearm.

In October 2017, law enforcement officers were notified that an armed male, later identified as Weathers, was within a residence.  When officers arrived, an injured woman was in the rear bedroom of the apartment with Weathers.  During a search of the residence, a pistol was located between the mattress and box spring where Weathers was lying.  A bag in the closet contained $3,661 in U.S. currency, 15 individually wrapped clear baggies with cocaine, and Weathers’s Florida identification card.

For possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Weathers faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.  For possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.  The sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 25 at the U.S. Courthouse in Pensacola.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey M. Tharp.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.