Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Bryan Roger Byers (57, Jacksonville), a United States Postal Service employee, has pleaded guilty to being in possession of a firearm as an unlawful drug user. Byers faces up to 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents and proceedings, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began investigating Byers after a firearm he had purchased was recovered during a drug trafficking investigation. During that earlier investigation, a felon was found to be in possession of a firearm and admitted purchasing the firearm from Byers in exchange for crack cocaine.
Investigators located text messages, which reflected that Byers used sex workers to find buyers for his firearms. The buyers then exchanged drugs for the firearms. Records reflect Byers purchased at least 10 firearms over the last four years.
On April 2, 2025, a search warrant was executed at Byers’s home. Law enforcement officers seized seven firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, and two suspected crack pipes from the home. The next day, Byers attempted to purchase another firearm. ATF agents arrested him for being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna Falzetta.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
