Northfield Resident Sentenced for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on May 27, 2022, Shaka Africa, 31, of Northfield, Vermont, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford to 32 months of imprisonment and a 3-year term of supervised release for possessing a firearm in 2020 after having been previously convicted of a felony offense.

According to court records and proceedings, Africa was involved in a shooting incident on August 27, 2020, in Morristown Vermont.  Africa had just arrived in his vehicle at a residence on Elmore Road when a Jeep that had been following him aggressively pulled into the driveway behind him.  Africa, without knowing who was in the Jeep, drew a handgun and fired a round at the Jeep.  The bullet struck the Jeep in the left rear wheel well.  The occupants of the Jeep immediately departed and reported the incident to police.  Police later located Africa and seized a 9-millimeter pistol from him.  Africa was determined to be a felon, having been convicted in 2016 of aggravated assault with a weapon in Washington County, Vermont.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Morristown Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives in the investigation and prosecution of Africa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Lasher prosecuted the case for the United States.  Africa was represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels.

This case was 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.  https://www.justice.gov/psn