Tampa Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm
TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Demetrius Lamar Rahmings, 28, of Tampa to 10 years in federal prison for possessing a loaded firearm as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Rahmings to forfeit a Taurus G2C 9mm Pistol and 19 rounds of 9mm ammunition traceable to the offense. Rahmings had been found guilty on May 30, following a bench trial.
According to court documents, on October 8, 2020, Rahmings was wanted on several outstanding warrants for violent crime charges in state court. Deputies from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Apprehension Unit and officers from the Tampa Police Department were monitoring a residence in Tampa that was known to be frequented by Rahmings’s associates. Law enforcement officers observed Rahmings at that residence and when they approached him, he fled on foot into the home. The officers pursued him into the residence, and once inside, Rahmings dropped a bookbag in the hallway and then hid in a bedroom. Rahmings was taken into custody. The officers recovered a Taurus 9mm firearm with an extended magazine loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition, plastic baggies, a digital scale and an orange ski mask from the backpack.
At the time of this offense, Rahmings had previously been convicted in state court in Florida of multiple felonies, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon (2013); aggravated assault with weapon (2013); aggravated battery (2013); possession of a firearm as a felon (2019); and fleeing to elude law enforcement (2019). As a convicted felon, Rahmings is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. Rahmings had recently been released from the Florida Department of Corrections on February 5, 2020.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Tampa Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Apprehension Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shauna S. Hale.
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.
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