Louisiana Felon Sentenced to More Than 13 Years After Being Found in Possession of a Firearm Multiple Times

New Orleans, Louisiana –  A Louisiana felon has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after being found in possession of a firearm multiple times.

On April 5, 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana reported that Jakari Brown, a/k/a “Jakari Lemar,” age 24, a resident of Bogalusa, Louisiana, was sentenced on April 4, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry to consecutive terms of 120 months (10 years) and 40 months (3 years, 4 months), respectively. Also, Judge Guidry imposed 3 years of supervised release and a mandatory $200 special assessment fee after Brown plead guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court filings, Brown, a convicted felon, possessed an Iberia Firearm (HiPoint) Model JPC,.40 caliber handgun on April 25, 2019, which he fired during a shootout near the intersection of Hickory and South Columbia Streets in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Brown was found with a gun again on December 27, 2021, when police located a Smith & Wesson Model SW9VE, nine-millimeter pistol under the driver's seat of the vehicle he was driving.

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.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys J. Benjamin Myers and Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr. of the Narcotics Unit handled the prosecution.