Fort Myers convicted felon sentenced for hidden gun without serial number

Writer: Paul Dolan
Published: Updated:
gun serial number
Steven Dewayne Barnes Jr. mug shot. CREDIT: LCSO

A Fort Myers convicted felon was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after a jury found him guilty in July.

According to court records, Steven Dewayne Barnes Jr., 26, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Furthermore, Barnes Jr. was ordered to give up the firearm and ammo he had during the offense.

Fort Myers police officers saw Barnes while walking on Washington Avenue in Fort Myers on Nov. 14, 2022, and began talking to him. While talking, officers saw a couple of details leading them to believe he was concealing a weapon on his person.

The officers then began patting Barnes down and discovered a loaded Smith and Wesson handgun tucked into his waistband. After authorities looked at the gun, they saw the serial number had been scratched out.

After forensic ballistics analysis on the Smith and Wesson handgun, it was connected to two drive-by shootings in Fort Myers.

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