Mississippi felon pleads guilty to possessing rifle in car after Delhi, La traffic stop

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Mississippi resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegal possession of a rifle and ammunition after being stopped for speeding in Dehli.

Terrance Deon Jordan, 35, of Terry, Mississippi, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurce Hicks Jr. to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the guilty plea, a Louisiana State Police trooper pulled over Jordan’s vehicle on June 2, 2017 in Dehli, Louisiana, for speeding 104 miles per hour in a 70-mile-an-hour zone. The trooper saw a rifle with a shortened stock in the driver’s seat next to Jordan’s right leg when he approached the vehicle. The firearm was later identified as a Norinco rifle: SKS; caliber: .223; and the trooper also found ammunition. Jordan is a felon who was convicted in Mississippi on multiple charges.

Jordan faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and forfeiture of the seized weapons. The court set sentencing for August 29, 2018.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The ATF and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.