Bradenton Man Pleads Guilty to Gun and Drug Charges, Faces Potential Life Sentence

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Terry McDonald Jr., a man from Bradenton, has pled guilty to a number of offenses, including possession of a handgun or ammunition by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. After entering a guilty plea, McDonald, 32, now faces a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, with the possibility of a life sentence.

McDonald was discovered on October 5, 2023, when Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies carried out a search warrant at a Bradenton residence, according to information from the court filings. A string of controlled fentanyl transactions from another person at the same residence sparked the action. Authorities found a loaded pistol, drugs, and paraphernalia inside McDonald’s car, which was the only person in the driveway when they arrived on the scene. They confiscated a digital scale, a Smith & Wesson revolver, and drugs that were classified as cocaine and fentanyl.

Due to previous felony offenses in his criminal past, McDonald is not allowed to own firearms or ammunition under federal law. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, his record includes carrying a concealed firearm, evading or trying to elude a law enforcement official, and possessing cocaine with intent to sell or deliver.

McDonald has agreed to give up the confiscated Smith & Wesson gun and ammunition as part of his guilty plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Chang is handling the case, which was looked into by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The case is under the purview of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national program designed to lower gun violence and violent crime. Building community trust, promoting preventative measures through community organizations, streamlining enforcement priorities, and tracking the results of these initiatives are some of the fundamental tenets of the PSN approach that the Department of Justice has delineated.

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