A 25-year-old convicted felon from Orlando could spend the next 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to possessing a loaded pistol.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg of the Middle District of Florida announced that Benjamin Garmon, Jr. has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
According to court records, on January 20, 2024, Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies were conducting a homicide investigation when they executed a search warrant at Garmon’s residence located on Gadwall Lane in Orlando.
After making contact with Garmon and his girlfriend at the residence, deputies searched the interior of the home. Inside Garmon’s bedroom, deputies found a shoebox in the closet that contained a loaded Glock, model 21 Gen 4, .45 caliber pistol.
Garmon admitted to the deputies that when they arrived at the home, he had moved the pistol from a dresser in his bedroom to the shoebox in his closet.
At the time that the loaded firearm was found in his bedroom, Garmon had previously been convicted of four felonies, including carrying a concealed firearm, burglary of a structure, grand theft, and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.
As a convicted felon, Garmon is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick.
Garmon faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Earlier this week, a convicted felon from Kissimmee who sold fentanyl to an undercover agent in 2022 pleaded guilty to possessing several firearms and ammunition.