Evergreen Reporter

United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jerome Junior Swopshire, 40, of Silver Springs, to eight years in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Swopshire to forfeit the firearm involved in the offense. Swopshire entered a guilty plea on July 29, 2024.

According to court documents, on August 9, 2023, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force received information that Swopshire, a wanted fugitive, was in Ocala, Florida. A USMS Task Force Officer conducted surveillance and observed Swopshire leaving a residence in Ocala. Swopshire was detained as he was getting into the driver’s seat of a rented vehicle. A search of a backpack Swopshire was wearing revealed a loaded Taurus pistol with an extended ammunition magazine.

Swopshire’s backpack also contained a digital scale coated in a powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine, a jar of marijuana, and small plastic baggies. In the center console of Swopshire’s vehicle was a hard white substance which tested positive for fentanyl and more plastic baggies. Under the driver’s seat, officers located a spent 9mm shell casing—the same caliber as the ammunition in Swopshire’s firearm.

At the time of his arrest, Swopshire had previous state felony convictions for robbery, child abuse, resisting an officer with violence, felony domestic battery, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force along with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Ocala Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative bringing together all levels of law enforcement and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence while making neighborhoods safer. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on fostering trust and legitimacy in communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring results.