United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has convicted James Patrick Sychowski, 48, of Tarpon Springs, of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. Sychowski faces up to 15 years in federal prison, with a sentencing hearing yet to be scheduled. He was indicted on May 17, 2023.
Evidence and testimony presented at trial revealed that on February 7, 2023, Sychowski armed himself with a loaded AR-15 “ghost gun” he had constructed over several months. While at his mother’s residence in Tarpon Springs, Sychowski threatened to kill his mother and her husband and warned that he would shoot at police officers responding to the scene. When officers from the Tarpon Springs Police Department arrived, Sychowski fled but was later apprehended in Clearwater.
Officers discovered the AR-15 ghost gun on Sychowski’s bed, along with materials and accessories used to construct the firearm. Further investigation revealed that Sychowski had purchased components for the ghost gun online and had them shipped to the Tarpon Springs residence. Bank statements and financial records corroborated his purchases of the firearm components, as well as PMC 5.56mm ammunition and a magazine from a firearms store in Holiday, Florida.
Additional evidence from Sychowski’s cell phone confirmed his purchases and included a photograph of the completed AR-15 ghost gun.
Sychowski had previously been convicted for Attempted Murder of a Police Officer and was released from prison on January, 2022. He is also a registered sexual offender.
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