Below is an official statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Malcolm Jewell Williams, 39, of Jacksonville, was sentenced by Chief District Judge Marcia Morales Howard to 11 years and three months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine after conviction for felony and misdemeanor domestic violence. The court also ordered Williams to forfeit the firearm used in the crime. Mr. Williams was found guilty following a jury trial on July 25, 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
According to court documents, Williams has been convicted of 16 domestic violence felonies and two misdemeanors, each of which made him prohibited from owning a firearm under federal law. On January 23, 2024, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) detective encountered Williams in a gas station parking lot posing as a drug user, where Williams agreed to sell “Molly” to the detective. After the sale, Williams fled from JSO officers on foot across a four-lane divided highway and was apprehended in an alley next to a palm tree. A loaded firearm was placed at the base of the tree. Mr Williams was also in possession of a drug scale containing cocaine and residue.
After being transported to the Duval County Jail, Williams took off his cuffs and fled again through downtown Jacksonville before being arrested again by JSO. Four months earlier, Williams had been arrested by the Camden County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office on charges of possessing half a pound of methamphetamine and was being held on bond at the time of the crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Camden County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Department, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Cofer Taylor and Kelly Swaney.
This incident is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and their jurisdictions to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make communities safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a Violent Crime Reduction Strategy to strengthen PSN based on the following core principles: It promotes trust and legitimacy in communities, supports community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, sets focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measures results.
