Drug User Sentenced to Prison for Possessing a Firearm

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Williamsburg man was sentenced today to five years in prison for possessing a firearm while being a drug user.

According to court documents, John Johnson, 25, was arrested on Oct. 15, 2014 when Williamsburg Police responded to reports of a shooting. Johnson was located by responding officers and his firearm was recovered from an alleyway beside a local business when he threw it following the shooting. Johnson was also in possession of a backpack containing marijuana which he admitted was his for personal use.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-cr-92.