Miami Gardens Man Convicted of Felon-in-Possession Charges

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and John V. Gillies, special agent in charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that, after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley, a jury convicted defendant Tyrone Cross, 28, of Miami Gardens, of two counts of possessing firearms and ammunition after previously having been convicted of a felony offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).

According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, the defendant, a convicted felon, illegally possessed firearms on January 20, 2011 and July 14, 2011. On January 20, 2011, the defendant led officers from the Hialeah Police Department on a high-speed car chase through Hialeah, Opa Locka, and Miami Gardens. The chase ended when the defendant crashed the car he was driving in the front yard of a residence in Miami Gardens. After the crash, the defendant fled on foot for a short distance before he was caught and arrested. Following the defendant’s arrest, officers from the Hialeah Police Department searched the car he was driving and found, concealed in bags and a locked box in the trunk, a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, a loaded .357 revolver, and a Draco assault pistol with a loaded 30-round magazine nearby. On July 14, 2011, the FBI searched a residence in Miramar and found a locked safe. After obtaining a search warrant and opening the safe, the FBI recovered a loaded .38 caliber revolver, a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, and an extended magazine for the Glock handgun. Through DNA evidence recovered from the firearms, other items in the safe, and the defendant, the FBI was able to connect the firearms in the safe to the defendant.

Sentencing has been scheduled for May 17, 2012. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison for each violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the Hialeah Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Strider Dickson and Mark Dispoto.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.