SAVANNAH, GA: Five defendants face federal charges including illegal possession of firearms after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences.
The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, in an ongoing effort to reduce violent crime by targeting those who illegally possess firearms.
The latest announcement of firearms prosecutions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office comes as the newly created Columbia County District Attorney’s Office becomes the 12th state prosecutor’s office in the Southern District, and joins the Southern District’s Prosecutor to Prosecutor Program (P3) in an agreement to collaborate with federal prosecutors to determine the most appropriate venue for adjudication of crimes occurring in the judicial circuit.
“Removing guns from the hands of convicted felons is an essential part of fighting violent crime in our community,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We welcome the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office and its District Attorney, former U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine, in joining us to keep our communities safer.”
In the past three years, more than 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony.
Defendants named in federal indictments from the November 2021 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:
Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:
Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Savannah Police Department, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the Wrightsville Police Department, and the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Henry W. Syms Jr., Patricia G. Rhodes, Tara M. Lyons, Jennifer A. Stanley, Marcela C. Mateo, Steven H. Lee, Joshua S. Bearden, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense.
For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.
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