Sulphur resident pleads guilty to illegally possessing a shotgun and pistol

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that James Bergeron, 29, of Sulphur, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

According to the guilty plea, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on October 19, 2018 at Bergeron’s Sulphur residence where they found a Browning 12-gauge shotgun and a Ruger .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol.  Bergeron, a convicted felon, was present at the time of the search and admitted to ownership and use of the firearms.  He was convicted in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on September 26, 2013 for bank robbery and in the 14^th Judicial District Court, Calcasieu Parish, on August 25, 2017 for possession of Methamphetamine.  Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

Bergeron faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  The court set the sentencing date for July 9, 2019.

The ATF, Lake Charles Police Department and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie is prosecuting 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 reductions in crime.