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Press Release

Fort Pierce Felon Sentenced to Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and More Than Two Pounds of Marijuana

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida

Jose Antonio Morales, 33, of Fort Pierce, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg to a total of 84 months in prison today, after having been convicted at trial of being a felon unlawfully in possession of a firearm and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute the controlled substance  (Case No. 18-Cr-14056).   

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office and Ken J. Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement.

According to the court record, including evidence introduced during the trial in West Palm Beach, in June 2018, law enforcement seized two pounds of high-grade marijuana and a loaded firearm from a safe in Morales’ bedroom while executing a search warrant at his residence in Fort Pierce.  When the search warrant was executed, Morales’ residence was occupied by five children.  A toddler was sleeping within a few feet of the safe where the loaded firearm and two pounds of marijuana were discovered.    

Morales is a convicted felon and was prohibited, by law, to possess a firearm and/or ammunition.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the ATF and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in this matter.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Porter and Marton Gyires.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Updated May 1, 2019