Alexandria man pleads guilty to being a felon in possession of a stolen pistol

ALEXANDNRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that Freddie Lewis, 28, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On December 12, 2017, a Louisiana State Trooper stopped Freddie Lewis in Alexandria and found that he was in possession of a loaded Glock 22, .40-caliber pistol that had been reported stolen.  Lewis is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of previous felony convictions that include possession of cocaine (2010), aggravated flight from an officer and simple burglary of a religious building (2013), obscenity (2015), and attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (2017).  Under federal law, felons are not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition.

Lewis faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  Drell set the sentencing date for July 19, 2019.

The ATF and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara is prosecuting the case.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Project Safe Neighborhoods 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.