Man With Domestic Violence Conviction Sentenced To 18 Months In Federal Prison For Unlawfully Possessing Firearms

 LAS VEGAS - - A man who was convicted in December 2012 of unlawfully possessing  firearms because he had been  previously convicted of a domestic violence offense, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Isaiah Aljavar-Martell Perkins, 21, of North Las Vegas, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George.  Perkins was convicted by a jury on Dec. 13, 2012, of two counts of prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

            “Under federal law, you are prohibited from possessing a firearm if you are a felon or a fugitive, if you use or are addicted to controlled substances, if you have been adjudicated as a mental defective, if you are unlawfully in the United States, if you have been dishonorably discharged from the military, if you are subject to a domestic violence restraining order, or if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “These are all felony crimes, and we are committed to prosecuting persons who violate these laws.”

            According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, on Jan. 29, 2012, Perkins was pulled over by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Metro) officer for a traffic violation and a .40 caliber handgun was found under the driver’s seat where Perkins had been sitting.  On July 11, 2012, Perkins was found to be in possession of another .40 caliber handgun that was discovered in the glove box of a vehicle he was driving. Perkins had been convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery in the North Las Vegas Municipal Court on March 3, 2011, and was prohibited under federal law from possessing the firearms. 

The case was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip N. Smith, Jr. and Cristina Silva.

The case was brought under DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America.