Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Eric Joel Valdez (24, Clay County) pleaded guilty to theft of a firearm from a federal firearms licensee (FFL). Valdez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and payment of restitution to the victim. Sentencing is set for March 18, 2026.
Valdez appeared in federal court on September 30, 2025, on a writ from state prison in New Jersey. He is serving a 10-year prison sentence for two armed robberies involving the firearm stolen from the FFL in Florida. According to court documents, on November 11, 2022, Valdez entered Orange Park Gun & Pawn in Clay County and requested to see a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol. As he examined the pistol, he suddenly ran out the front door of the business and fled the area in a sedan style car.
Using street cameras and surveillance footage from the area, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) identified Valdez as the individual who stole the pistol. On November 18, 2022, the Perth Amboy Police Department (PAPD) in Perth Amboy, New Jersey conducted a stop of a car driven by Valdez, as part of an armed robbery investigation. After obtaining a search warrant for the car, the PAPD located in the car the stolen Taurus G2C 9mm pistol, loaded with eleven rounds of ammunition, including one round in the chamber. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 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.