Fort Myers Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and Ammunition
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Otis Marchman IV (28, Fort Myers) to 3 years and 5 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Marchman to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the offense. Marchman had pleaded guilty on August 12, 2022.
According to court records, on December 26, 2020, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Marchman on South Street in Fort Myers. Instead of stopping his vehicle, Marchman accelerated away from officers until his vehicle became disabled several blocks away. Marchman then ran from his vehicle and hid in nearby bushes before he was apprehended and arrested by the officers. Inside his vehicle, officers located Marchman’s loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun. As a convicted felon, Marchman is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. At the time of this incident, Marchman was on federal supervised release for an unrelated case, and the court ordered Marchman’s prison sentence in this case to run consecutively to a two-year prison sentence imposed in connection with his supervised release violation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
