A convicted felon will spend over seven years behind bars for possessing a firearm in connection with a shooting that injured another man at an Orlando shopping center.
Darrius Jaques Garrett was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger this week to spend seven years and six months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Garrett, who had faced a maximum sentence of twenty years, pled guilty on November 30, 2022.
According to court records, the conviction spawns from a shooting that took place on Friday, May 27, 2022. During that incident, Orange County Sheriff’s Office detectives responded to the shopping plaza located at 2200 Americana Boulevard in reference to an aggravated battery.
Upon arrival, deputies found a victim who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and torso. The man was transported to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where medical personnel determined that one of the gunshots had hit his heart.
During their investigation, police obtained surveillance video from a nearby business that showed a man wearing a black t-shirt and gray shorts exit a black Dodge Charger. In the video, the man proceeds to the rear of the vehicle and walks east. A gunshot is heard and the man is seen raising a small black pistol and firing multiple shots towards the east. After the shooting, the video shows the man reentering the vehicle and leaving the scene.
The victim positively identified the man as Garrett. According to the victim, Garrett was known to him and they interacted with each other at least three days a week for the past year.
Five days later, on June 1, 2022, Garrett was observed returning to the scene of the shooting. Deputies spotted Garrett exit the same Dodge Charger depicted on the surveillance video.
Inside the Charger, police found a loaded Glock firearm that they believed was used in the shooting.
Garrett’s criminal history showed that he was convicted of a felony crime in October 2008, and that he was again convicted of two felony crimes on May 12, 2010. At the time, Garrett served at least two years and six months in a Florida state prison.