Pensacola Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison for Federal Firearms Charges

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Awald Edward Pokrant Jr., 50, of Pensacola, has been sentenced to 86 months in prison after pleading guilty on January 24, 2017, to unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing an unregistered firearm. The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In October 2016, law enforcement officers who responded to an armed disturbance observed Pokrant fleeing the scene. After a high-speed chase, the officers pulled Pokrant over and transported him back to the location of the incident. At the scene, an injured and bleeding victim told officers that Pokrant had struck her with a hammer. Law enforcement officers observed blood splatter in several locations in the house and recovered a hammer. A search of the house revealed firearms and ammunition. The victim later told officers that Pokrant might have moved additional firearms to a friend’s house. Law enforcement officers recovered eight firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from this other location.

This case resulted from investigations by the ATF Gun Crime Response Team, which includes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Pensacola Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Ustynoski.

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 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.

For more information, contact:

Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer

amy.alexander@usdoj.gov