Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ramone Ron Young Jr., 34, has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, according to John P. Heekin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Heekin said the prosecution reflects his office’s focus on removing violent, dangerous felons from the community. He credited the Gainesville Police Department and federal law enforcement partners with the investigation, adding that his office, under President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche, is pursuing criminal cases to promote safer communities.
Original arrest
Gainesville police were called to a home in the Northeast Neighbors area around 1 a.m. on May 28, 2026, following a report of an armed disturbance. Officers encountered Young outside the residence. When they pointed their firearms at him and asked where the weapon was, Young reportedly denied having a gun before officers placed him in handcuffs.
The alleged victim, a blood relative who lived at the home, told investigators that she and Young had been arguing when he became angry, produced a black handgun and pointed it at her head. She said Young threatened to kill her, then fled outside and tossed the weapon into the front yard. According to her account, no one else witnessed the incident, although Young was speaking with his mother by phone at the time.
A police K-9 team later located a loaded black FMK .40-caliber handgun concealed in a bush in the front yard.
Young could receive a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor is scheduled to sentence Young at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2026, at the U.S. Courthouse in Gainesville.
The case resulted from a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Gainesville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Fleming is handling the prosecution.
The prosecution was brought under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Justice Department’s nationwide initiative for coordinating federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and community safety partners in the fight against violent crime. U.S. attorneys’ offices in all 94 federal districts oversee locally tailored PSN efforts aimed at addressing specific public safety challenges. As part of Operation Take Back America, the initiative focuses on three priorities: a swift federal response to violent crime, strong partnerships across law enforcement agencies and accountability through the prosecution of serious, readily provable offenses. The department says those efforts also support President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces and provide a coordinated federal response to major threats facing communities.
