MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING A SEMI- AUTOMATIC RIFLE AFTER BEING INDICTED FOR STATE FELONY CHARGES

Published 10:30 am Sunday, October 3, 2021

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 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that JOHNNY WOODEN, age 21, from Orleans Parish, pled guilty on September 28, 2021 to a onecount indictment for possession of a firearm while under indictment, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(n).  WOODEN was initially indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on August 7, 2020.

 

On July 29, 2020, WOODEN possessed a semi-automatic rifle while he was under indictment for felony charges in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, which prohibited him from possessing any firearms.

 

At sentencing, WOODEN faces up to a maximum term of imprisonment of five (5) years, a maximum fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(a)(1)(D).

 

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems 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 partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

 

The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Bücher of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.