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Police recovered these firearms from the barricaded home of a convicted felon in Kissimmee in April 2022. PHOTO/DEPT. OF JUSTICE
Armed vehicle burglaries suspects arrested
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has made two arrests in connection with multiple burglaries of several conveyances in the Westside Boulevard corridor in Osceola County.
Jeffrey Elijah Gilbert (one count of armed unoccupied conveyance burglary, four counts of unoccupied unarmed conveyance burglaries, one count of grand theft of a firearm, and one count of petit theft.) and Demonta Deon Adkins (four counts of unoccupied conveyance burglaries) have been arrested and charged.
In February Sheriff detectives began an investigation into multiple burglaries of several conveyances along Westside Boulevard. During these burglaries, the suspects reportedly targeted tourist vacation homes to burglarize vehicles for credit cards and firearms.
In this case, after burglarizing vehicles and stealing personal identification and credit cards, the suspects drove to a Walmart, went inside wearing ski masks and purchased Visa gift cards with the stolen credit cards.
Detectives conducted surveillance on both suspects Gilbert and Adkins, who were later observed in the Solara Resort committing additional burglaries. Detectives and K-9 units contacted both suspects; Adkins was caught immediately, and Gilbert was arrested after initially running and hiding, and was found with a loaded handgun in his bag. Gilbert was also arrested last year in Lake County on similar charges and was out on bond for those charges, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Kissimmee man sentenced to the max for illegal firearms stash
Submitted by the Department of Justice A U.S. District Judge has sentenced Daniel Stephen King, 28, of Kissimmee to 10 years in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon.
The court also ordered King to forfeit nine firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition. A federal jury had found King guilty on Nov. 14, 2022.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on April 23, 2022, the Osceola County Sherriff’s Office was called to King’s residence due to a domestic disturbance. When the deputies arrived, a resident of the house frantically ran outside with her four-year-old daughter. The deputies were informed that King had a large number of firearms and ammunition in the house and that King had strapped on a bullet proof vest.
At the time, King was a convicted felon who was on probation and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. The deputies surrounded the house, and after approximately two hours, they persuaded King to come out and surrender. A warrant was obtained to search the residence and nine firearms were recovered, including three rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a ballistic vest. A rifle safe, multiple gun lockboxes, magazines, and an ammunition can were also recovered from inside of the house.
This wasn’t King’s first run-in with the law. He has a criminal history that includes multiple firearms offenses for which he served prison time, as well as violations of probation. This case was investigated by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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 our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting communitybased organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
