Louisiana Felon Sentenced to More Than 12 Years After Police Find Loaded Weapon in His Possession

Louisiana – Kentrell Laday, 20, of Carencro, Louisiana was sentenced on August 18, 2022, for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Laday to 100 months (12 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Laday was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in a July 2021 indictment and pled guilty on March 8, 2022. According to evidence given in court, officers noticed Laday and a known accomplice of his exiting a car parked at a residence in Lafayette, Louisiana. Officers arrested Laday and read him his Miranda rights. Officers searched the vehicle Laday had been driving to ensure there were no other occupants and discovered a weapon and a little cellophane bag containing marijuana on the driver’s seat in plain view.

Officers seized a loaded Springfield XD-9 handgun with 17 rounds of ammo after obtaining a search warrant for the car. Laday admitted ownership of the drugs and handgun.

Laday pled guilty to domestic violence charges in Lafayette, Louisiana on June 8, 2021, and was barred from carrying any handgun or ammunition as a result of his conviction.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Lafayette Police Department, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danny Siefker.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve together to minimize violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to strengthen PSN on May 26, 2021, based on the following core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.