JACKSONVILLE – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Shawntae Jamell Clark, 45, of Orange Park, to 10 years and five months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The court also ordered Clark to forfeit two firearms, ammunition and cash traceable to his offenses. He was arrested on July 6, 2022, and ordered detained. Clark pleaded guilty on Aug. 21.

According to court documents, deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office were investigating Clark based on reports that he was selling drugs, including methamphetamine, out of a hotel room at the Stay Suites on Wells Road. On July 2, 2021, deputies observed Clark leaving his hotel room with a backpack and getting into a car. During a subsequent traffic stop of the vehicle, a CCSO K-9 alerted the likely presence of illegal narcotics. A subsequent search of the car revealed a small safe containing a loaded Beretta pistol and Taurus revolver, seven baggies of methamphetamine, and approximately 100 small baggies.

Further investigation determined that the total weight of the methamphetamine was approximately 159 grams, and that Clark had multiple prior felony convictions for armed robbery, attempted lewd or lascivious act – sexual battery and multiple convictions for possession of cocaine. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.  

On Sept. 25, Judge Howard sentenced a related defendant, David Lee Rucker, 35, of Elberton, Georgia, to six years and eight months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on Wells road. The court also ordered Rucker to forfeit a firearm and ammunition. Rucker had pleaded guilty on May 19, 2022.

Thr case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein prosecuted it. Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran handled the forfeiture.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer. 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.