DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces a federal jury convicted Rayzjaun Curry, age 25, of Denver, of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a prohibited person.
According to evidence presented at trial, on April 22, 2022, Denver Police Officers with District 2 Impact Team were on proactive patrol in the Park Hill area. They observed a vehicle with an expired license plate and initiated a stop. As they approached the vehicle, the defendant, who was in the driver’s seat, was reaching for something in the front passenger seat. While searching the vehicle, officers found a backpack on the front passenger seat with a Ruger 9mm handgun with 15 rounds in the magazine and 1 round in the chamber. The only other person in the car was the defendant’s 6-year-old daughter, in the back seat. It was also proven at trial the defendant was a felon, and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore presided over the three-day trial. The jury returned its guilty verdict on November 9, 2022. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2023.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Denver Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Dunn and Celeste Rangel.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
CASE NUMBER: 22-cr-147