Fort Myers Felon Sentenced For Possessing A Loaded Firearm During A Traffic Stop

Fort Myers, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber today sentenced Marquis Lamar Kitchen (38, Fort Myers) to two years and three months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Kitchen to forfeit a firearm and ammunition, which were possessed during the offense. Kitchen pleaded guilty on September 18, 2024.

According to court documents, on March 21, 2024, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle after observing it moving side to side. The vehicle slow rolled for a few blocks before coming to a stop. Officers gave loud commands for the driver to roll down all off the vehicle's windows. An officer watched a male jump from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, and a female jump from the passenger seat to the driver's seat. When officers asked the occupants to get out of the vehicle, they found Kitchen in the passenger seat.

As the occupants were exiting the vehicle, an officer spotted a pistol on the driver's side floorboard protruding from underneath the driver's seat. DNA analysis linked Kitchen to the trigger, rough areas, and loading port of the pistol. At the time, Kitchen was a previously convicted felon making him prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make out neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.