Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm

Gulfport, Miss. – Semaj  Jermal Jefferson, 27, of Gulfport, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  

On August 16, 2018, Jefferson, a previously-convicted felon, sold a semi-automatic rifle loaded with 10 live rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition to an individual at a Gulfport, Mississippi, residence, for $450.  Jefferson was previously convicted of burglary of a dwelling in Harrison County, Mississippi, and was therefore prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm.

Jefferson will be sentenced by Judge Guirola on February 11, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., in Gulfport.  He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.