Jackson Woman Sentenced for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Jackson, Miss.—Heather Elizabeth Wright-Beard, 40, of Jackson, was sentenced today by United States Chief District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to 70-months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, U.S. Marshal George White, and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On December 2, 2016, while attempting to execute an arrest warrant at the residence of Heather Elizabeth Wright-Beard, deputies with the U.S. Marshal Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force observed a round of shotgun ammunition in plain view on top of a gun safe in a closet adjacent to the kitchen. Since Wright-Beard and her husband are convicted felons and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, deputies obtained and executed a search and seizure warrant, recovering a Winchester .22 caliber rifle, a Taurus .22 caliber revolver, and 1,677 rounds of assorted ammunition scattered throughout the residence and garage.

Wright-Beard was convicted previously in the Circuit Court of Rankin County for the felony offense of possession of methamphetamine and possession of cocaine. She was convicted a second time in the Circuit Court of Rankin County for the felony offense of possession of methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the U.S. Marshal Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keesha D. Middleton as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood.