Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Brandy Sue Rayburn (41, Jacksonville) and Duane Lamonte McCray (43, Jacksonville) each to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Court also ordered them to forfeit a Remington pistol and ammunition. Rayburn and McCray had pleaded guilty on December 7, 2021.
According to court documents, between April and May 2020, Rayburn and McCray sold cocaine and other drugs from Rayburn’s residence in the Arlington area of Jacksonville. To protect their drug dealing operations, Rayburn and McCray obtained a firearm that they kept at the house. Following the arrest of Rayburn and McCray, a Remington firearm and ammunition was located and seized by law enforcement. Forensic investigation revealed DNA of Rayburn and McCray on the firearm.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cyrus P. Zomorodian and Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.
This case is part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.