Miami-Dade County Resident Convicted for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

An Overtown resident was convicted by a jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), made the announcement.

Jarod Montell Alonso, a/k/a “Rob Dough,” 29, was convicted in a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  The jury was presented with evidence of the terror Alonso brought upon the residents of Overtown.  The facts of the conviction include Alonso shoving the barrel of an AK-47 into the face of a 50-year old grandmother, as she walked from a neighborhood corner store.  Just minutes after Alonso threatened to kill the grandmother, Alonso was tracked down to a nearby apartment and arrested.  During his arrest, a defiant Alonso yelled to police, “I run that block.”  Police searched the apartment where Alonso was found, and discovered the firearm Alonso used during the assault, hidden inside a 5-year old child’s bedroom.

Alonso has previously been convicted of state felony crimes, including attempted first degree murder, and now faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison as an armed career criminal.

Alonso is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

This case is, in large part, the result of the Violence Reduction Partnership, launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Through this Partnership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks in various neighborhoods, while simultaneously working with community leaders and concerned citizens to mentor at-risk youths, provide jobs and job training to young families, and help probationers and parolees successfully re-enter society.

 Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF and MPD.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Breezye Telfair and Benjamin Widlanski.