U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal Gun Control Act
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On April 18, 2023, United States District Judge Wendy Vitter sentenced ELIJAH POWELL, age 27, a resident of New Orleans, following his guilty plea to illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court records, POWELL admitted to being observed on the city’s Real Time Crime Cameras with what appeared to be a pistol in his pocket. When New Orleans Police Officers arrived to investigate, POWELL ran. He was apprehended after a brief chase but no longer had the pistol. Officers traced his route of flight and found the pistol in the side yard of a house along POWELL’s path of flight. POWELL admitted he had previously been convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm in St. Charles Parish.
Judge Vitter sentenced POWELL to 27 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Judge Vitter also ordered POWELL to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit.
Contact
Shane M. Jones
Public Information Officer
United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice
Updated April 21, 2023
Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods