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Press Release

Convicted Felon Sentenced to Over 12 Years for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Tennessee

 

Memphis, TN – Mona Pryor, 38, has been sentenced to 148 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, on September 14, 2019, officers with the Memphis Police Department were called to Eglesfield Drive (New Horizon Apartments) regarding individuals loitering. Once on the scene, officers found Mona Pryor in possession of a Charco .38 Special revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition and a Lexus that had been reported stolen in a carjacking approximately three hours prior.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Pryor admitted to possessing the firearm and obtaining the Lexus in a drug trade, not a carjacking. Two months later, on November 15, 2019, Pryor was apprehended by law enforcement in Missouri and found in possession of a stolen Taurus 9mm handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. On January 29, 2021, Pryor was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 78 months of imprisonment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

On January 27, 2022, United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Pryor to 70 months to be served consecutive to the 78-month sentence received in the Eastern District of Missouri, for a total sentence of 148 months of imprisonment. He will also serve three years of supervised release upon his release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force. The (PSN) initiative is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on

targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Assistant United States Attorney Regina Thompson and Special Assistant United States Attorney Samuel D. Winnig prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. SAUSA Winnig was assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office for prosecuting violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.

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Updated February 1, 2022