Fort Myers, Florida – United States Legal professional Roger B. Handberg publicizes that Giovanni Francois (23, Naples) has pleaded responsible to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and MDMA, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. Francois faces as much as 10 years in federal jail for possessing the firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and as much as 20 years’ imprisonment for possessing with the intent to distribute MDMA and fentanyl. He faces a minimal obligatory penalty of 5 years, as much as life, in federal jail for possessing the firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A sentencing date has not been scheduled but.
In accordance with court docket paperwork, in January 2022, a deputy from the Collier County Sheriff’s Workplace initiated a visitors cease for routine visitors violations on a car wherein Francois was a passenger. After the lights and sirens had been activated, the driving force continued driving with out pulling over. Throughout that point, Francois, a convicted felon, threw gadgets from the automobile two completely different occasions. The primary time, Francois discarded a white and yellow bag containing varied gadgets together with a chamber-loaded 9mm pistol and a big clear bag containing a number of empty packages in line with narcotics gross sales. The second time, Francois discarded an oblong field containing varied varieties and portions of medication, together with 33 models of suspected MDMA, greater than 28 grams of cocaine, and a bag of powder containing suspected fentanyl. Contained in the automobile’s rear floorboard, on the passenger facet, deputies positioned a plastic bottle with further suspected fentanyl powder and two small clear plastic baggies containing cocaine base.
This case was investigated by the Collier County Sheriff’s Workplace and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It’s being prosecuted by Assistant United States Legal professional Mark Morgan.
This case is a part of Undertaking Secure Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing collectively all ranges of legislation enforcement and the communities they serve to cut back violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everybody. On Might 26, 2021, the Division launched a violent crime discount technique strengthening PSN primarily based on these core ideas: fostering belief and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that assist stop violence from occurring within the first place, setting centered and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the outcomes.