Mario Jerome Bentley, 44, of Jacksonville, was sentenced on July 14 to four years and three months in federal prison for cyberstalking and possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday issued the sentence in Tampa federal court and ordered Bentley to forfeit the ammunition and have no contact with the victims. Bentley pleaded guilty in April 2026, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
Court documents state that beginning in April 2023, Bentley harassed two former Assistant United States Attorneys by repeatedly calling one attorney’s direct line hundreds of times and leaving threatening voicemails. In September 2023, law enforcement searched Bentley’s home and found four boxes of ammunition containing a total of 100 cartridges.
Bentley is a previously convicted felon who is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The United States Marshals Service investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel prosecuted it.