New Orleans Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Violations of the Federal Gun Control Act

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On September 19, 2023, United States District Judge Wendy B. Vitter sentenced JAVEN JONES, age 20, a resident of New Orleans, to (10) ten years in federal prison for violating the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. 

According to court records, JONES pleaded guilty to two separate counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  The first count related to an April 2022 incident in which New Orleans Police Department officers found JONES asleep in a stolen vehicle.  During a search of the vehicle, the police found crack, fentanyl, over $2,000 in cash, and two pistols, a Glock Model 23, .40 caliber pistol and a Sig Sauer Model P320, nine-millimeter pistol.  The second count related to an August 2022 incident in which New Orleans Police Department officers arrested JONES while JONES was in possession of fentanyl and a Glock pistol.

Judge Vitter sentenced JONES to five years in prison on each of the two counts of conviction, to run consecutively, for a total sentence of ten years.  Judge Vitter also ordered that JONES serve five years of supervised release after his release from prison.  JONES also was ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count.

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.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit.