Career Criminal Sentenced To Life In Federal Prison In Connection With Fort Myers Night Club Shooting

 Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Jonathan Anthony Reid (32, Gibsonton) to life in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a previously convicted felon, in connection with the shooting of two men outside a Fort Myers night club in January 2020. 

Reid was found guilty by a federal jury on March 11, 2021.

According to evidence presented at trial, in the early morning hours of January 29, 2020, Reid shot two men who were standing in front of the entrance of a night club on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers then fled the scene in a silver sedan with a stolen license plate. Reid made efforts to conceal his identity during the shooting by wearing a hooded sweatshirt, gloves, and a ski mask, but he later crashed and abandoned his getaway car while fleeing from the shooting scene. From his wrecked getaway car, law enforcement recovered a Glock .45 caliber handgun, nine rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, a camouflage ski mask, a hooded sweatshirt, and blue latex gloves. DNA analysis later revealed that Reid’s DNA profile matched DNA extracted from the ski mask, the sweatshirt, a ripped latex glove, and the firearm that was recovered from the vehicle. Three cellphones were also found in the car, all of which were later connected to Reid.  

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Fort Myers Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Simon R. Eth and Shannon Laurie.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.