Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Anthony Leroy Haygood (28, Sarasota) to six years and five months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The Court also ordered him to forfeit a Smith & Wesson revolver and six rounds of ammunition.
Haygood pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016.
According to court documents, on May 3, 2016, law enforcement officers in Sarasota attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed. Haygood was a passenger in that car. The vehicle crashed and the driver fled. Haygood then moved from the passenger seat into the driver’s seat and drove off. After a brief chase, the officers executed an immobilization maneuver and stopped the vehicle. Haygood then fled from the vehicle on foot and was later apprehended. Officers found a loaded Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver in the car that Haygood admitted belonged to him.
At the time of this offense, Haygood had several felony convictions, including aggravated fleeing and eluding, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and battery on a law enforcement officer. As a result, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Sarasota Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program – a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Daryl R. McCray, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law-enforcement officials.