Department of Justice

Jackson, TN – Orlando Mays, 41, has been sentenced to 88 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Acting United States Attorney announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, on October 24, 2019, after an investigation by the 28th Judicial West Tennessee Drug Task Force and the Brownsville Police Department, a search warrant was executed at Mays’ residence in Brownsville, Tennessee where law enforcement recovered in the master bedroom a Smith & Wesson, model M&P Shield, .40 caliber, an American Tactical 5.56/.223 caliber AR-style pistol with a large capacity drum and additional ammunition, a Glock Model 22 firearm with an extended magazine, two digital scales with marijuana residue, a Food Saver Vacuum Sealer with bags, sandwich bags, oven bags, a money counter, and more than $20,000 in currency.

Also found in Mays’ wallet were his U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Identification Card and Tennessee Identification Card. A search of vehicles belonging to Mays yielded a FN Five Seven, model 5.7x28 caliber firearm. The defendant pled guilty to possessing the Smith & Wesson, model M&P Shield.
Mays is a convicted felon having previously been convicted of Use of a Facility in Interstate Commerce in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire in which he was hired by the leader of a drug trafficking organization to murder two individuals. As a result of his felony convictions, Mays is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On March 4, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge J. Daniel Breen sentenced Mays to a total of 88 months imprisonment; 64 months for the firearm offense, and 24 months for violating the terms of his supervised release. He will also serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Mays is a convicted “hit man” and enforcer for the largest drug trafficking organization ever in the state of Tennessee. He was on supervised release from federal prison, living outside of his ordered requirements and trying to hide in small town Tennessee to conduct his criminal enterprise. However, small town Tennessee utilizes big town law enforcement who came together to put Mays back where he belongs, federal prison. I commend my Agents and all of those who participated on a job well done,” said John Carter, Director of the West TN Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.

This case was investigated by the 28th Judicial West Tennessee Drug Task Force; the Brownsville Police Department; the Gibson County SWAT Team; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and U.S. Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hillary Parham and Christie Hopper prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

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