Monroe Man Sentenced To 117 Months In Prison As A Felon With A Firearm And Possession Of A Firearm During Drug Trafficking

MONROE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Michael Pryor, 37, of Monroe, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James to 57 months in prison for one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and to an additional and consecutive 60 months in prison for one count of possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking.  He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, and his firearm was forfeited.  He pleaded guilty October 28, 2013.

According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, on December 6, 2012, Monroe Police officers investigated reports of marijuana being sold at a home on Gordon Avenue.  They visited the home, and while speaking to Pryor about the reports, they smelled marijuana and received his permission to search the home.  They found a total of 33 grams of marijuana packaged for street sale, a loaded .22 caliber pistol, baggies, scales, and scissors, and three other firearms.  Pryor had previously been convicted in Orleans Parish in 1997 on possession of cocaine and attempted possession of a firearm while in possession of controlled dangerous substances.  He was also convicted in Orleans Parish in 2004 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

The Monroe Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.  Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program designed to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms laws.