Lafayette man pleads guilty to possessing handgun, rifle

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that Shelby Jude Darby, 27, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to possessing a 9 mm pistol and an AK-47 style rifle. 

According to the guilty plea, Lafayette police conducted on November 1, 2017 a traffic stop on Darby’s vehicle because of illegal dark tint.  Darby exited the vehicle and ran down an alley between a residence and a garage.  Officers chased him, placed him under arrest, and found a SCCY, Model CPX-2, 9 mm semi-automatic pistol on the ground where Darby had been laying.  They returned to Darby’s vehicle where officers observed in plain view, a Romarm/Cugir, Model WASR 10/63 UF, 7.620-caliber semi-automatic rifle, which was located between the driver’s seat and center console, along with various illegal narcotics.  Darby is a felon who was previously convicted in February of 2016 for possession of a controlled dangerous substance.  According to federal law, a convicted felon is not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition.

Darby faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for July 5, 2019. 

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 reductions in crime.

The ATF and the Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog is prosecuting the case.