Arkansas Man Sentenced for Being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition

Gulfport, Miss. – An Arkansas man was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in New Orleans.

According to court documents, on October 6, 2020, Victor Cody Rosillo, who had been traveling in Mississippi, committed a drive-by shooting from a nearby street onto Keesler Air Force Base near the Military Hospital Emergency Room.  While no firearm was recovered, two shell casings and a fired bullet were recovered from the scene by Biloxi Police and Keesler Security Forces.  The recovered projectile was analyzed by a forensic examiner and was determined to be a 9mm bullet consistent with the 9mm shell casings recovered.  The forensic examiner also noted that the 9mm projectile would have been fired from a 9mm HiPoint firearm, which investigators learned was the same type of firearm possessed by Rosillo during the Keesler shooting incident.

Rosillo, who was serving a term of state felony probation in Arkansas at the time of the shooting in Mississippi, was indicted by a federal grand jury and pled guilty on December 28, 2021.

U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the investigation and coordination of the FBI, the ATF, Keesler Security Forces and the Biloxi Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris prosecuted the case as part of the federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program.  The centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s crime reduction efforts, PSN is an evidence-based program proven effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together and develop comprehensive solutions. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.