Gulf Coast Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm

Gulfport, Miss. – Joseph Benjamin Posey, II, 19, of Biloxi, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

On September 2, 2020, law enforcement officers with the Biloxi Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Posey was a passenger.  As a result of the stop, officers located two loaded handguns, one of which was stolen.  Posey subsequently admitted that he obtained the guns three days before the traffic stop, and that he and the other occupant of the vehicle were on their way to speak to another individual about a series of shootings in Biloxi.  Posey also admitted that he was a member of local gang and that he used marijuana daily.  

Posey was indicted on October 6, 2020. He will be sentenced on March 11, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.   

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Biloxi Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Buckner.