Shreveport man sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug and firearms offenses

SHREVEPORT, La. – A Shreveport man was sentenced on Wednesday to serve time in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph.

Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. sentenced Bryan Thomas Robinson, 38, to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Robinson pleaded guilty to these charges on February 20, 2019.

According to information presented in court, a Shreveport police officer conducted a traffic stop on Robinson’s vehicle on October 28, 2017, for no tag information on the vehicle.  The officer smelled marijuana and conducted a search of the vehicle where he found a cooler in the trunk of the car containing a glass bong, 49 grams of marijuana in a blue bag, pills, a digital scale, additional packaging baggies and a Hi Point .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun.  Robinson admitted to possessing the firearm telling officers that his neighborhood was dangerous and he needed the gun for protection.

At the time of his arrest, Robinson was a felon who was convicted on February 25, 2013, for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Under federal law, a felon is not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition.

The ATF and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields 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.