Kevin Eugene Leeks, Jr., a 34-year-old resident of Leesburg, Florida, has been sentenced to three years and ten months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber following Leeks’s guilty plea on October 31, 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
Court records indicate that Leeks has been a convicted felon since 2013 with previous convictions including robbery with a deadly weapon. On July 13, 2019, he was stopped by a deputy from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office while driving. During the stop, Leeks told his passenger to throw his loaded pistol out of the car window. The deputy recovered the weapon and arrested Leeks at the scene. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that unites law enforcement agencies and community organizations to address violent crime and gun violence. As part of PSN, authorities focus on fostering trust within communities, supporting groups that work to prevent violence before it occurs, setting targeted enforcement priorities, and evaluating outcomes to ensure safer neighborhoods.
“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. 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 the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.” according to the press release.
