Morgan City resident sentenced for possessing rifle

LAFAYETTE, La. – Travis Trumaine Singleton, 35, of Morgan City, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 50 months in prison and two years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays for possessing an assault rifle after being convicted of a felony, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph announced. Singleton previously pleaded guilty to the federal charge on April 16, 2019.

Morgan City Police executed a search warrant on January 19, 2019 at his mother’s home and found an Eagle Arms, Model Eagle 15, multi-caliber, semi-automatic rifle and 29 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition. He later admitted that he was in possession of the rifle, and that he also took a photo of the firearm on January 17, 2019, which further documented his possession of the weapon.

Singleton is a felon with a previous drug felony in state court. Under federal law, convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

The ATF, Chitimacha Tribal Police and Morgan City Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie prosecuted 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.