Jefferson Davis County Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearms While Under Domestic Violence Protection Order

Hattiesburg, Miss. – A Jefferson Davis County man pled guilty to illegally possessing firearms while under a domestic violence protection order, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.    

Victor Joseph Schexnayder, 49, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg.  

According to court records, on September 8, 2021, a firework was placed inside of an AT&T Digital Transmission Site, blowing up a hub of Digital Subscriber Lines internet and phone connectivity in Jefferson Davis County.  A subsequent investigation led agents to a search of Victor Joseph Schexnayder’s residence where they discovered multiple firearms.  At the time, Schexnayder was the subject of a domestic violence protection order, issued in the Chancery Court of Harrison County, which prohibited him from possessing firearms. Overall, seventeen firearms were collected during the course of the investigation. 

Schexnayder will be sentenced on June 23, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Eichner is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.