Louisiana Man Faces Up to 8 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Firearms Charges and Misprision of Felony

Louisiana – On June 29, 2022, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Warren Picard, age 26, of New Orleans, Louisiana pled guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm by a felon and misprision of felony.

Specifically, on June 29, 2022, Picard pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and one count of misprision of felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 4.

Picard and others conspired to possess a Glock Model 19, nine-millimeter caliber pistol on or about July 21, 2020, according to court documents.

Picard faces up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for conspiracy to possess a firearm by a felon. Picard faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, up to a year of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for misprision of a felony.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s efforts to reduce violent crime. PSN is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce violent crime. PSN brings together a diverse range of stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime issues in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and collaborates with community-based prevention and re-entry programs to achieve long-term crime reductions.

United States Attorney Evans commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department for their work in investigating this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan L. Shih.