Louisiana Felon Sentenced to Prison After Being Found in a Vehicle with 2 Firearms by the FBI

New Orleans, Louisiana – On November 16, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Ernest Dunn, age 32 of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on November 10, 2022, for a violation of the Federal Gun Control Act. He was convicted of a single-count indictment charging him with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).

According to court filings, Dunn was in the driver’s seat of a parked car in an area that had just been the scene of a drive-by shooting. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was conducting surveillance and noticed suspicious activity near the car. When authorities approached, they asked Dunn to exit the car and discovered two semi-automatic weapons at his feet. Dunn was barred from owning weapons due to prior convictions in Orleans Parish for armed robbery and purse snatching.

Dunn was sentenced to 42 months behind bars followed by three years on supervised release. He was also forced to pay a necessary $100.00 special assessment fee.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to prevent violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to strengthen PSN 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.

U.S. Attorney Evans thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work in investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorney Charles D. Strauss is in charge of the prosecution.