Felon from Plain Dealing sentenced to 78 months in prison for possessing loaded shotgun

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that Johann Gary Barnes, 47, of Plain Dealing, Louisiana, was sentenced Monday to six and a half years in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. for being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

A Benton police officer pulled over Barnes’ pickup truck on January 29, 2018.  While the officer was speaking to Barnes and the passenger, he observed a small amount of marijuana in the center console of the pickup truck and a sawed-off shotgun at the foot of the driver’s seat.  The shotgun was an Ithaca, model: 37 Featherlite, 12-gauge shotgun loaded with four rounds in the magazine tube and one in the chamber.  Barnes pleaded guilty to the current federal charge on November 15, 2018.

Barnes was previously convicted on March 1, 2004 in Caddo Parish for possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I drug and was convicted on September 27, 2005 for possession of a firearm by a felon.  Under federal law, convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

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.

The ATF and the Benton Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.