Department of Justice

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Christopher Calkins (29, St. Petersburg) to five years in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Calkins to forfeit the firearms and ammunition involved in the offense.

Calkins had pleaded guilty on January 22, 2020.

According to court documents, on October 11, 2018, law enforcement officers executed a narcotics-related search warrant at Calkins’ home, where the officers seized 12 pounds of marijuana, $7,900 in cash, five loaded firearms (including two assault rifles), and 63 rounds of additional ammunition. The firearms were located out in the open and unsecured and Calkins was babysitting a small child at the time. Calkins later confessed to possessing the marijuana, the firearms, and the ammunition. Because Calkins had a prior felony conviction he was and is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.