Fort Lauderdale Felon Indicted for Possessing Gun After Allegedly Shooting Police K-9
A federal grand jury indicted Jaquez Laquan Laster on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after he allegedly fired at a Fort Lauderdale Police Department K-9 during a foot pursuit. The charge carries up to 10 years in prison and follows the dog's non-life-threatening gunshot wound in the May 2025 incident.
nypost.comFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging Jaquez Laquan Laster with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after he allegedly shot a police dog during a pursuit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced.
The single-count indictment alleges Laster, a convicted felon, possessed a firearm that he used to shoot Fort Lauderdale Police Department K-9 officer Nitro on May 29, 2025. Nitro sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The charge stems from events that began when officers attempted to serve a warrant on Laster and he fled on foot, according to the Department of Justice release.
The indictment was returned in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition. A conviction on the charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.
The case now moves to arraignment and pretrial proceedings in federal court. Prosecutors must prove Laster’s prior felony conviction and his knowing possession of a firearm. The incident directly triggered the federal firearms charge because the alleged shooting of a law-enforcement K-9 during an active pursuit established federal jurisdiction and evidentiary links to the weapon.
This is the latest federal prosecution of a previously convicted offender for illegal firearm possession following violent contact with law enforcement. The Department of Justice has pursued such cases under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) in multiple districts this year after incidents involving shots fired at police or K-9 units.
Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice
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