A Miami man's life of crime caught up with him as he's slapped with a 30-year federal prison term for a series of gun-related offenses. Demetris Kewan Mackie, 29, will also face five years of supervised release following his prison sentence, a consequence of his conviction for illegal firearm and ammunition possession as an armed career criminal.
The case against Mackie, which led to his October 2023 conviction, spotlighted a dangerous eight-day period where he wielded the same firearm in attacks on two individuals. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendant pistol-whipped and opened fire on one victim, leaving them injured outside a Miami laundromat on April 12, 2023. Miami-Dade Police Department officers following a blood trail discovered the wounded individual who had collapsed nearby. The next morning, the victim described his assailant as a male brandishing a silver-topped gun and a distinctive teardrop tattoo.
Merely days after the laundromat incident, Mackie struck again, this time in North Miami Beach. Although his intended target escaped injury, authorities promptly received an identification linking Mackie to the attack. The violent spree reached its culmination with Mackie's April 20 arrest by MDPD officers, who found him in possession of the silver-topped gun connected to both incidents.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe and ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson heralded the sentencing handed down by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II. The ATF's Miami Field Office spearheaded the investigation, receiving support from local law enforcement agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Keller and Vanessa Bonhomme were tasked in prosecution of the case.
