Sulphur resident sentenced to 3 years in prison for illegally possessing a shotgun and pistol

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Sulphur, Louisiana, man was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. to 37 months in prison and five years of supervised release for illegally possessing a shotgun and pistol. James Bergeron, 29, previously pleaded guilty for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon on April 11, 2019.

According to information presented in court, 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.

The ATF, Lake Charles Police Department and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Supervisory 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 reductions in crime.