Carriere Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of a Firearm by an Unlawful User of Narcotics

Gulfport, Miss. –  A Carriere man was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

Jacob Whitehead, 35, was sentenced on October 13, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.        

According to court documents, in January of 2022, DEA task force officers were called to a residence in Lumberton, Mississippi due to a suspected overdose death.  An investigation into the death revealed that the decedent had recently purchased narcotics from Jacob Whitehead.  A search warrant was obtained for the home of Whitehead and three firearms were recovered as part of the search.  Small amounts of narcotics were also found in the residence. Whitehead admitted to being an unlawful user of narcotics and to possessing the three firearms.     

Whitehead was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 23, 2022.  He pled guilty on June 28, 2022, to possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of controlled substances. 

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.