TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — A Tarpon Springs man who threatened his mother and her husband with a gun he built himself in 2023 was sentenced to over 12 years in prison.
Officials said 48-year-old James Patrick Sychowski was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. A jury found Sychowski guilty on Dec. 6, 2024.
According to a press release, on Feb. 7, 2023, at his mother's home, Sychowski armed himself with the loaded AR-15 "ghost gun" he built himself over the course of several months and then threatened to kill his mother, her husband, and police officers responding to the scene.
When the Tarpon Springs Police Department arrived, Sychowski fled and was later arrested in Clearwater. Officers said they found the gun on Sychowski's bed along with the construction materials and accessories used to build it.
During an investigation, officials learned that Sychowski had purchased the AR-15 components online and shipped them to the home.
Bank statements, financial documents, and electronic evidence presented of Sychowski’s purchase of the ghost gun components and his purchase of PMC 5.56mm ammunition and a magazine from a local firearms store were presented during the trial.
Officials said that over the last 20 years, Sychowski was convicted in Florida of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, carjacking, various sex crimes involving children, and bank robbery. He had been released from the Florida Department of Corrections for fewer than 5 months when he began planning to assemble the gun.
While current owner Stu Sternberg hasn't said he's ready to sell the Tampa Bay Rays, two groups have emerged as potential buyers.
