Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Javeon Maurice Jacobs (22, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to three firearms offenses relating to his brandishing of a firearm during three armed carjackings. Jacobs had entered his guilty pleas on April 14, 2022. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 21 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 13, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, on March 31, 2021, Jacobs used a firearm and physical force to carjack a vehicle in Safety Harbor. On April 18, 2021, Jacobs kidnapped two individuals at gunpoint in Tampa and took their vehicle. After releasing those victims, Jacobs abandoned their vehicle at another location in Tampa. He then carjacked another vehicle, again by brandishing a firearm.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Tampa Police Department, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Largo Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Preston.
This case is being prosecuted as 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.