Hancock County Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Charges

Gulfport, Miss – Joshua Rain Collins, 29, of Hancock County, entered a guilty plea today before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kurt Theilhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Judge Ozerden will sentence Collins on January 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.  He faces a minimum of 5 years in prison on the charge.  He further faces fines up to $250,000 and 5 years of supervised release. 

On September 26, 2019, Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputies received information that Collins and a female were in possession of narcotics and a firearm at a hotel on Hwy 49 in Gulfport.  They found Collins with a backpack containing approximately 17 grams of methamphetamine and a Smith & Wesson handgun.  Collins admitted the handgun was protection.  DEA lab reports document the methamphetamine had a purity level of 99% for 16.58 grams of pure methamphetamine.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Forearms and Explosives investigated the case.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.