Federal jury convicts Texas man of possessing AR-15 rifle after traffic stop in Greenwood, Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a federal jury handed down a guilty verdict against a Texas man Tuesday for possessing an AR-15 rifle in his car after having been previously convicted of multiple felonies. 

Deandray Charles Grant, 29, of Carrollton, Texas, was convicted after a one-day jury trial presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr.

Testimony presented during the trial showed that a Greenwood, Louisiana, police officer pulled over Grant’s vehicle on November 23, 2018, for traveling 90 miles per hour in a 70 mile per hour speed zone.  After the vehicle stopped, the officer approached Grant and asked for his identification.  Grant told the officer that he was a “sovereign citizen” with “sovereign status” and did not have to comply with his request.  Eventually, Grant exited the vehicle and was arrested.  The officers discovered that he did not have any identification and had a small amount of marijuana in his front pocket.  After searching the vehicle they found a DPMS Panther Arms AR-15 rifle and 28 rounds of .556-caliber ammunition.

Grant is a convicted felon who was found guilty on August 8, 2013, of possession with intent to distribute drugs, on April 4, 2014, of simple burglary, and on May 1, 2014, of possession of marijuana, all in Caddo Parish.  Under federal law, a convicted felon is not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

“Everybody must obey the law, even sovereign citizens,” Joseph stated.  “Felons that carry firearms in this district pose a danger to our communities and will be federally prosecuted.  I want to thank the officers who handled this situation professionally and the other law enforcement agents that investigated this case.  I also want to thank the prosecutors from my office for their hard work obtaining a successful verdict.”

Grant faces 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  The court set sentencing for January 6, 2020.

The ATF, Greenwood Police Department and Shreveport Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Aaron Crawford and Jessica Cassidy prosecuted 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, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.