LAFAYETTE, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Lafayette man was sentenced to 54 months in prison for possessing eight stolen firearms.

Rico D. King, 39, of Lafayette, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik on one count of possession of stolen firearms. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to evidence presented at the May 7, 2015 guilty plea, during an investigation into Lafayette burglaries and after developing leads as to the location of the stolen firearms, agents executed a search warrant in September of 2014 at a residence in Lafayette where King was an occupant. During the search, agents found King in possession of the stolen firearms including a .26-06 caliber rifle, two .25-06 caliber rifles, a .410 gauge shotgun, two .12 gauge shotguns, a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and a .270 caliber rifle. Victims of the burglaries reported all eight firearms as stolen.

Multiple agencies including the ATF, FBI, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office and Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program designed to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms laws.