Shreveport felon sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced Tuesday to 120 months in prison for possessing a loaded revolver after being convicted of a felony.

Joseph Dominic Pronnette Jr., 34, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the April 20, 2016 guilty plea, members of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force executed an arrest warrant on September 13, 2015 on Pronnette for a prior felony and for violating his parole.  He was found in the driver’s seat of a car parked behind a residence in Shreveport and resisted arrest.  After he was removed from the car and taken into custody, a loaded .38 caliber revolver was found on the driver’s seat. During the guilty plea, the defendant admitted the weapon was his.

It is unlawful for Pronnette to possess a firearm or ammunition as he has prior felony convictions for felony theft, simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and domestic abuse aggravated assault.

This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to promote firearm safety and to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm.

The ATF, U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, and the Louisiana Department of Corrections Probation and Parole conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case.