TAMPA, FLORIDA – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Leon Grant, Jr. (40, St. Petersburg) to 14 years and 2 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon.
The court also ordered Grant to forfeit the firearms and ammunition he had possessed.
Grant had pleaded guilty on July 27, 2021.
According to court documents, federal agents, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, investigated a series of credit union robberies committed in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties in 2019. As part of the investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant for Grant’s home in St. Petersburg. On January 22, 2020, state and federal investigators searched Grant’s home and seized more than 36 grams of fentanyl, 26 grams of methamphetamine, and 35 grams of crack cocaine. Investigators also located three firearms and ammunition in Grant’s bedroom, including an AR-15 rifle and two pistols. Grant admitted he was a drug dealer and said he kept the firearms in his home for protection. Grant, having previously been convicted of multiple felonies, was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Park Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.
