Humboldt Man Sentenced to 15 Years as an Armed Career Criminal

Jackson, TN – Jerome Lavell McBride, 39, has been sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the guilty plea today.

According to information presented in court, on December 12, 2017, as a law enforcement officer was traveling northbound on Highway 45W in his undercover vehicle when a crown Victoria passed him at a high rate of speed of approximately 70 mph in a 55 mph zone, so he initiated a traffic stop.

During the traffic stop, the agent observed a plastic baggy containing marijuana hanging out of the defendant’s pocket. A subsequent search of the vehicle produced a Lorcin .380 caliber pistol along with 15 individually wrapped bags of marijuana and $494.

The defendant has previously been convicted of 2nd degree robbery (KY), 2nd degree burglary (KY), second degree assault (KY), reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault. Because of these previous violent felony convictions, McBride was determined to be an armed career criminal under the federal sentencing guidelines, and subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months.

On January 30, 2020, Senior U.S. District Court Judge J. Daniel Breen sentenced McBride to 188 months in federal prison followed by 4 years supervised release.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "Convicted felons who possess firearms are an inherent danger to community, and in this case, the defendant was an armed career criminal who continued to possess a firearm despite his prior violent felony conviction history. There is and ought to be a significant consequence for such recidivist criminal behavior, and this is one more gun-toter removed from our streets for a very long time."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary Lawler Parham prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.