Former Felon Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Illegal Possession Of Firearms

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former felon who was convicted for federal firearms violations was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada.

Tajh Dion Weatherspoon, 28, was found guilty in May of one count of felon in possession of a firearm and he pleaded guilty to a second count of felon in possession of a firearm. Weatherspoon had two prior felony convictions, including attempted burglary and felon in possession of a firearm. In addition to the term of imprisonment, United States District Judge Howard D. McKibben imposed a three year term of supervised release.

According to the superseding indictment, Weatherspoon was in possession of a Glock 19 handgun on June 15, 2016, and a Glock 21 handgun on Dec. 22, 2016. The Court severed the two counts and ordered that the trials proceed one after the other, beginning May 15, 2017. After the jury convicted Weatherspoon of possessing the Glock 19 handgun, he declined to proceed to trial on the count charging possession of the Glock 21 handgun and instead pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement.

The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the North Las Vegas Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tony Lopez and Patrick Burns.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide commitment by the Department of Justice to reduce gun and gang crime in America by networking local programs that target gun and gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/usao-nv.

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