Convicted felon from Bradenton gets 16.5 years for firearm possession

MANATEE -- A 33-year-old Bradenton man was sentenced in a Tampa courtroom today to 16 years and six months in prison for being in possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon.

James Lee Davis was sentenced by U.S. District Court following a plea agreement, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

Davis and another person approached a victim who was walking her dog in a Bradenton neighborhood on July 4, according to the press release.

Davis, who had a gun, ordered the victim and a second victim to the ground. Davis and his accomplice went into the victims’ residence, shot two of their three dogs, took a small safe and fled, the release states.

A search warrant obtained by law enforcement for Davis’ residence and vehicle produced several rounds of 9mm ammunition, a 30-round magazine for a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol, several gun holsters, a second high-capacity magazine for an unidentified pistol, a loaded 9mm Ruger firearm, a loaded 9 mm Smith & Wesson firearm, an AK-47 rifle with two magazines and a box of ammunition, the release adds.

Davis’ prosecution was part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhood,” a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the release states.

This story was originally published October 25, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Convicted felon from Bradenton gets 16.5 years for firearm possession."