Jackson, Miss. – A Meridian woman was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
According to court documents, Mia Francine Sims, 54, sold narcotics to individuals on several occasions from her Meridian residence over a period of months, beginning in July of 2019. A joint team of Meridian Police officers and FBI agents conducted a search warrant on the residence and discovered a handgun, along with relatively small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine. Though Sims was not home at the time of the search, witnesses confirmed that Sims was the only resident of the home. Further investigation revealed that Sims had two prior felony drug convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Sims was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. She pled guilty on April 22, 2021.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Meridian Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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