New Orleans Man Guilty of Being Felon in Possession of Firearms

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JARROD CARTER (“CARTER”), age 29, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty on February 13, 2025, before Chief United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, to violating the Federal Gun Control Act, by being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.

According to court records, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers received a complaint  about several unidentified black males on Mandeville Street in New Orleans, brandishing firearms and distributing narcotics.  A Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer (TFO) from NOPD observed a male subject, later identified as CARTER, walking on the sidewalk with a black AR-15 style rifle in his hand and a backpack.  The TFO attempted to contact marked units with the NOPD to detain him, but no units were available, and CARTER left.

The following day, January 3, 2023, the TFO again observed CARTER standing in the same area.  CARTER was carrying the same backpack he carried the previous day. The TFO saw that  the backpack had the same shape as a rifle.

Shortly thereafter, NOPD officers stopped and searched CARTER, locating a loaded, Taurus .40 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number in his waistband.  CARTER was then arrested and when the officers searched his backpack, they found a loaded, Springfield AR-15 style rifle.   CARTER was a previously convicted felon that and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Chief Judge Brown set sentencing for May 8, 2025.  On each count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, CARTER faces up to15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

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.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel and PSN Coordinator.