New Orleans Man Indicted for Violations of the Federal Gun Control Act, the Federal Controlled Substances Act, and for Assault

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that STEPHEN ELLIS, age 52, a resident of New Orleans, was charged today in a four-count Indictment for violations of the Federal Gun Control Act, the Federal Controlled Substances Act, and for Assault.

According to the Indictment, ELLIS possessed firearms subsequent to being convicted of a felony offense, possessed firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, possessed with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride, a Schedule II drug controlled substance, and committed an assault on law enforcement officers during the execution of a search warrant.

The charges arose out of the execution of a search warrant at ELLIS’s home in New Orleans, in which gun fire was exchanged as the agents tried to enter the home, resulting in ELLIS being wounded in the leg.

In convicted, ELLIS faces:

• Count 1, being a felon-in-possession of a firearm:  up to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment;

• Count 2, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime:  a minimum of five years up to life imprisonment, to run consecutive to any other sentence, and up to five years of supervised release following imprisonment;

• Count 3, assault with a deadly weapon:  up to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment; and,

• Count 4, possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride:  up to twenty years imprisonment and/or a $1,000,000 fine, followed by at least three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Homeland Security Investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Gretna Police Department in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Michael E. McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.