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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that defendant RICHARD JONES, of New Orleans, was sentenced on December 8, 2022 by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to 40 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

Count One of the indictment charged JONES with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).  Investigators working on the scene of the second-line parade on November 21, 2021, observed a large rifle protruding from JONES’s waistband.  Officers attempted to conduct an investigatory stop of JONES when he fled.  The officers eventually detained JONES and removed the fully loaded rifle from underneath his shirt.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of ­­­­­the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Inga Petrovich of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.