A notorious gang leader from Middle Georgia faces a possible 15-year prison sentence after copping to a federal gun charge. Alphonzo Clyde, the kingpin behind the Mafia criminal gang, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in front of Chief U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on April 10, said the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Clyde, 45, of Macon, could be looking at hard time up to a decade and a half behind bars, which will be determined during his July 3 sentencing. The guilty plea stems from an Oct. 8, 2023 bust when local and federal officers stopped him and discovered a Taurus G2S 9-millimeter handgun inside the glove compartment of his SUV. "The Mafia criminal gang is tied to violent crime and large-scale fentanyl distribution in Macon and Middle Georgia, causing grave harm to our community," U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary conveyed in a statement.

Clyde’s past is littered with felony convictions, making it illegal for him to possess any firearm. At the time of his latest arrest, officers also noted a scale with white powder and the odor of marijuana in his vehicle, adding to his list of offenses. This case is a piece of the larger Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, aiming to knit law enforcement and communities closer together in the fight against violent crime and gun weaponry.

The gang, operating out of Middle Georgia and West Virginia, has been under the lens of the law for some time, with the recent plea deal turning a new page in the saga of their criminal exploits. The collaborative crackdown involved the FBI along with Bibb County and Jones County Sheriff’s Offices, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom leading the charge for the prosecution. Clyde now awaits his fate, which, devoid of the possibility of parole in the federal system, could reshape the remainder of his years.