SERIAL FELON PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Tyrese Da'Jon Jones, 26, of Gainesville, Florida, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "Kudos to the excellent work by the Alachua County Sheriff's deputies who took this violent felon off our streets so we could follow that up with a successful prosecution to put him behind bars where he belongs. The Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America continues to deliver wins for community safety as we fulfill the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi that we will aggressively prosecute violent felons like this defendant to clean up our streets."

Court documents reflect that on July 2, 2025, the defendant was approached by law enforcement while he was exiting a restaurant. The defendant fled from law enforcement and dropped a fully loaded pistol on the ground. After he was taken into custody, the defendant admitted that he pulled the firearm while he was fleeing and that he recently took MDMA. The defendant was not permitted to have a firearm because he has five prior felony convictions from two states, including a prior conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 28, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. in Gainesville, Florida, before Chief District Judge Allen C. Winsor.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Alachua County Sherriff's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.

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, human and drug trafficking.

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 http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.