Pittsburgh Felon, 21, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Guns

PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months of imprisonment on his conviction of two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence on Jerimyah Newton, age 21.

According to information presented to the court, the defendant ran over a Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officer’s foot while speeding away from a traffic stop on April 10, 2020.  After a vehicle pursuit, officers found the vehicle, which was now unoccupied, and seized a loaded handgun from under the driver’s seat.  Those same officers encountered the defendant on May 31, 2020, and seized a loaded handgun equipped with an extended magazine from the defendant’s waistband after a brief foot chase.

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

/United States Attorney Chung commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Newton. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.