Sarasota Man Sentenced to 262 Months for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

For Immediate Release

August 26, 2010

A. Brian Albritton, United States Attorney
Contact: Steve Cole

Tampa, FL — U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on Tuesday sentenced Terrance Riley (age 39, of Sarasota) to 21 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony and possessing crack cocaine. A jury had found Riley guilty on February 2, 2010.

Facts at trial established that Riley was stopped in Sarasota, Florida, on July 14, 2008. As law enforcement officers approached Riley, he fled the scene and a chase ensued. During a foot pursuit Riley reached into the front of his pants and pulled out a firearm. Law enforcement was able to gain control of the weapon and Riley was subsequently arrested. A search incident to arrest revealed that Riley was in possession of approximately 22 pieces of crack cocaine.

This case was investigated by the Sarasota Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacie B. Harris.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction initiative led by ATF. United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton, along with Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Tampa Field Division is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. The program’s objective is to reduce violent crime by locating and seizing unlawfully possessed guns and then swiftly prosecuting the offenders.