Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Two Firearms Charges and Faces up to 25 Years in Prison

New Orleans, Louisiana – On December 1, 2022, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Johnny Walsh, age 25, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on November 30 to violating the Federal Gun Control Act before United States Senior District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle.

Walsh pled guilty to two charges of felon in possession of a firearm, one in March 2022 and the second in August 2022. Walsh faces up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any term of incarceration, with an obligatory special assessment cost of $100 on the March 2022 charge. Walsh faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any term of incarceration, plus an obligatory special assessment fee of $100 on the August 2022 charge.

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 New Orleans Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney David Haller is in charge of the prosecution.