Beaumont felon charged with federal firearms violations

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Beaumont convicted felon has been charged with federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Charles Terrance Leaven, 39, was named in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime.

The indictment alleges that on March 11, 2024, Leaven was found in possession of a firearm in Beaumont.  Further investigation revealed Leaven had been previously convicted of a felony and prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.   

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

If convicted, Leaven faces up to life in federal prison.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Beaumont Police Department; and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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