Ocala gang member sentenced to federal prison for gun possession

An Ocala gang member must spend more than a year behind bars for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

On Friday, August 16, Chief U.S. District Judge John Antoon II sentenced Clinton Darnelle Kaham, 25, to one year and eight months in a federal prison in connection with the weapons charge. Kaham pleaded guilty in February 2024.

According to court documents, on July 6, 2022, Ocala Police officers were conducting a foot patrol in the area of ​​the Berkeley Pointe apartment complex in the 2800 block of NE 7th Street in Ocala. During that patrol, officers noticed a parked vehicle near an apartment with the passenger door open.

Police stated in the arrest report that there were three people in the vehicle, including a gang member named Kaham. He was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle and officers noticed him appearing to be rolling something in his hands.

An officer made contact with Kaham and a “strong odor of marijuana” was emitted from the vehicle. The three occupants were removed from the vehicle and the interior was searched.

The report stated that a backpack containing a loaded .357 revolver was found on the passenger floor. A search of the gun's serial number revealed that it had been reported stolen in Ocala.

Additionally, an officer noted in the report that the backpack containing the gun was “located directly between Kaham's feet” while he was sitting in the vehicle. Also found in the backpack were a Florida identification card and a credit card belonging to Kaham.

A subsequent forensic analysis by the FBI found “very strong evidence” that Kaham was the source of the DNA profile created from the firearm's trigger, grip, frame and trigger guard.

Kaham was previously convicted of heroin possession in 2021. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition.

The Ocala Police Department and the FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Nowalk led the prosecution.

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.