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United States Attorney John M. Bales
Eastern District of Texas
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United States Attorney John M. Bales
Eastern District of Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: DAVILYN WALSTON
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2009 PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txe DIRECT: (409) 981-7902 CELL: (409) 553-9881
SHERMAN CAREER CRIMINAL SENTENCED TO 33 YEARS FOR
FEDERAL FIREARMS VIOLATIONS
SHERMAN, TX - U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a 36-year-old Sherman man has been sentenced for being an armed career criminal in the Eastern District of Texas.
JERELY LEE BIRDOW pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2008, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 405 months in federal prison on July 8, 2009, by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider.
According to information presented in court, on May 17, 2006, police were dispatched to a burglary in Sherman where Birdow forced his way into a home and robbed a woman at gunpoint. On May 19, 2006, Birdow forcibly raped and choked a woman to the point of her passing out in a wooded area behind the old mall in Sherman after the woman had given Birdow a ride. The woman stated that once Birdow entered her vehicle, she noticed he had what appeared to be a gun. After the rape, Birdow stole her purse and cell phone. The woman walked to the police station and reported the rape.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement authorities discovered that Birdow was a convicted felon, having been convicted of two counts of assault on a public servant in Bee County, Texas in 1999; burglary of a habitation in Fannin County, Texas in 1990; and burglary of a habitation in Grayson County, Texas in 1990. As a convicted felon, Birdow is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
Birdow was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 10, 2006, and arrested on Feb. 7, 2007.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sherman Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernest Gonzalez.
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