A 25-year-old convicted felon from Orlando has been sentenced to five years in federal prison, nearly one year after he pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded handgun.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger sentenced Malcolm Bellamy to five years’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Bellamy was also ordered by the court to forfeit the handgun used during the commission of the offense.
Bellamy had pleaded guilty to the charge in June of 2024.
According to court records, on April 21, 2023, a 911 caller reported that the driver of a vehicle, later identified as Bellamy, had pulled out a gun and fired it at them.
When Orlando Police Department officers arrived at the incident location, they observed an individual who was standing in the street and verbally confronting the occupants of a blue car. As officers approached, the car drove away, and the individual pointed at the vehicle and stated, “That’s them.”
Officers followed the car into a nearby neighborhood, and the pursuit ended when the vehicle pulled into the driveway of Bellamy’s home. A passenger was then seen exiting the car with a “black object” in their hand. The passenger briefly stepped out of view behind a nearby tree before returning to the vehicle empty-handed and laying on the ground.
The car’s driver, Bellamy, exited the vehicle and was detained in handcuffs without further incident.
When officers searched behind the nearby tree, they found an open black bag, which contained a chrome 9mm Taurus handgun. The firearm was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition, and a shell casing was found in the vicinity of the reported shooting.
During forensic testing, a DNA swab collected from the handgun matched a comparison sample that was taken from Bellamy. In addition, a shell casing from the firearm also matched the shell casing recovered at the scene.
At the time of the incident, Bellamy was a convicted felon, and his prior convictions included robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm. As a result, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Lyons and Matthew Del Mastro.
Additionally, this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence.