Career Criminal Convicted In Connection With Fort Myers Night Club Shooting

 Fort Myers, FL – A federal jury has found Jonathan Anthony Reid (31, Gibsonton) guilty of 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.  Under the Armed Career Criminal Act, Reid faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison.  His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 14, 2021.

Reid was indicted on June 3, 2020.

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, before fleeing 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.  In his wrecked getaway car, law enforcement found 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 cell phones were also found in the car, all of which were later connected to Reid.  

This case was investigated by United States 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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Simon R. Eth and Shannon Laurie.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence and enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. For more information on Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian.