TALLAHASSEE MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS FOR FEDERAL GUN CHARGES STEMMING FROM SHOOTINGS IN QUINCY

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - Sincere M. Perkins, 25, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after having previously been convicted at jury trial of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a machine gun. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "My office continues to produce successful prosecutions under Operation Take Back America, which was launched by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to devote the full might of the Department of Justice toward removing violent felons like this defendant from our communities. Our residents deserve to feel safe on our streets, and that is exactly what we will accomplish by aggressively prosecuting violent thugs who threaten our communities and sending them to federal prison."

Evidence at trial demonstrated that members of the United States Marshal's Fugitive Task Force located the defendant at an apartment in Tallahassee because of an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Officers attempted to call out the defendant, who eventually emerged from the apartment and was taken into custody. During a subsequent search of the apartment, officers found multiple firearms, including a pistol that had been modified to fire as a machinegun.

Ballistics from two of the recovered firearms matched shell casings from a shooting that had occurred a month and a half earlier in Quincy, Florida, in which two teenagers were shot. The defendant's DNA was found on both firearms that had been used in the shooting, and a recorded jail call indicated that the defendant was knowingly in possession of the firearms. At sentencing, the judge found that the defendant had been one of the shooters.

Acting U.S. Marshal Greg Leljedal remarked, "The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force goes after the worst of the worst. Working with law enforcement partners at the local, state, and federal level, our mission is to quickly locate and apprehend dangerous felons like Sincere Perkins before they can victimize anyone else. The evidence in this case clearly demonstrates that the community is safer with Perkins behind bars."

This sentence was the result of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshal Service, the Quincy Police Department, the State Attorney's Office for the Second Judicial Circuit, and the Tallahassee Police Department, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney's Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.