New Orleans Man Guilty of Illegal Firearm Possession

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –BRYAN SPEARS (“SPEARS”) , age 21, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on March 12, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).

According to court documents, on September 1, 2023, SPEARS was in the front passenger seat of a stolen car in Joe Brown Park in New Orleans.  After he was ordered out of the car, New Orleans Police Department officers recovered a Glock Model 17 firearm that was partially hidden underneath SPEARS’s seat.  The firearm was equipped with an extended magazine and loaded with 29 live rounds.

SPEARS faces up to 15 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.