Maurice resident pleads guilty in federal court for lying on firearm purchase form

LAFAYETTE, La. – Alex Joseph Suire, 25, of Maurice, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph announced.

According to the guilty plea, Suire attempted to purchase a Smith & Wesson SD9VE, 9 mm semi-automatic pistol on January 25, 2019, at a Lafayette sporting goods store.  In order to purchase the firearm, he was required to fill out an ATF Form 4473 in order to complete a background check.  Suire answered “no” to the question which asks the applicant to report pending felony charges.  At the time, he was aware that he had been charged with a variety of felony offenses in state court, which included home invasion, simple battery, domestic abuse battery, simple assault, intimidating witnesses and simple burglary.

Suire faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is scheduled for November 7, 2019.

The ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker 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.