Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Michael Stephen Johnson, 58, of Pensacola, Florida, has been indicted in federal court on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola on August 28, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.
If found guilty, Johnson could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to life imprisonment.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office are conducting the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer H. Callahan is prosecuting the case.
"An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," according to the release.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), which coordinates resources from several Department of Justice programs such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The initiative aims to address illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and reduce violent crime in communities nationwide.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida operates as one of 94 offices serving as principal litigators under the Attorney General's direction. Public court documents can be accessed through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. More information about this office is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
