A 24-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison after social media showboating with a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Leo Joshua Nieves-Ramirez, 24, Orlando, to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
The court also ordered Nieves-Ramirez to forfeit a SCCY 9mm pistol and 7 rounds of ammunition, which were involved in or used in the offense.
Nieves-Ramirez had pleaded guilty on May 28, 2021.
According to testimony and court records, beginning on October 30, 2020, FBI agents observed several photographs and videos posted to Nieves-Ramirez’s Instagram page with Nieves-Ramirez posing and displaying firearms and ammunition.
In one photo, Nieves-Ramirez was observed holding a Glock .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine and an “Auto Sear” (a device used to convert a semi-automatic firearm to fully automatic firing mode) attached to the rear of the firearm. In one video, Nieves-Ramirez was seen pointing and firing what appeared to be the same pistol out of an open front passenger side window in “automatic mode” to a backdrop of numerous tractor-trailers.
Nieves-Ramirez was arrested on January 5, 2021. As detectives with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office approached, Nieves-Ramirez fled on foot and discarded a pink firearm into the bushes.
The firearm was recovered and determined to be a SCCY 9mm pistol, loaded with 7 rounds of ammunition. The investigation also revealed that the firearm had been reported as stolen. Nieves-Ramirez has multiple prior felony convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.
This case is being 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,” said the DOJ in a release.
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