Drug User in Possession of a Firearm Sentenced in Federal Court

United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Cornelius Jeremih Pruitt, 23, of Bay Minette, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court on charges that he was a drug user illegally in possession of a firearm.  Pruitt pled guilty to the federal charge in April of 2019.  Court documents reflect that Bay Minette police and United States marshals arrested a fugitive wanted in connection with a homicide investigation at Pruitt’s residence in Bay Minette in March of 2018.  They received consent to search the residence, and found six guns in the house, one of which was a short-barrel rifle.  They also found bags of marijuana, packaging material and scales for weighing drugs.  Pruitt was advised of his rights, and he admitted to the investigators that he was a user of illegal drugs.

United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade imposed a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  During that time, Pruitt will undergo drug and alcohol abuse testing and treatment.  The judge did not impose a fine, but she ordered that Pruitt pay a $100 special mandatory assessment. 

The case was investigated by the Bay Minette Police Department, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshal’s Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.