A 23-year-old Gainesville man will spend the next three years behind bars for identity theft and possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
On Friday, July 14, 2023, Senior United States District Judge Gregory A. Presnell sentenced Brandon Jamal Alex Grant, a convicted felon, to three years and one month in federal prison for possessing counterfeit access devices with the intent to defraud and possessing loaded firearms.
Grant had pleaded guilty to the charges on May 2, 2023.
According to court documents, on July 5, 2022, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a Maserati on Interstate 75, near mile marker 363, in Marion County. The registered owner and sole occupant of the vehicle, Grant, had a suspended driver’s license at the time of the traffic stop.
The trooper made contact with Grant and detected the odor of marijuana inside the vehicle. The interior of Grant’s vehicle was searched and the following items were found: 61 fraudulent debit and credit cards; a forged identification card with Grant’s photograph on it; numerous fraudulent checks; electronic devices used to facilitate fraud, including a laptop computer and laser printer; two loaded firearms; and over $14,000 in cash.
Grant has prior state felony convictions for possession of a forged driver’s license, possession of oxycodone, and grand theft. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
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 in an effort to reduce violent crime and gun violence.