Previously Convicted Felon Sentenced for Firearms Crimes

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 10 1/2  years in prison for felon in possession of a firearm, and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in relation to and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, approximately one month after receiving a federal probation sentence for conspiring to straw-purchase firearms, Andre Peoples, 22, and his wife, co-defendant Tashayla Cameron, who was also a convicted felon, began dealing crack cocaine from their home. Peoples conducted the transactions while armed and wearing his ankle monitor.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Jackson and Andrew C. Bosse 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-8.