New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Gun Control Act

Published 4:22 pm Monday, January 23, 2023

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – ELIJAH POWELL, age 27, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty as charged on January 17, 2023 before United States District Judge Wendy Vitter to a one-count indictment alleging that he illegally possessed a firearm after being convicted of a felony, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, POWELL was observed on the city’s Real Time Crime Cameras with what appeared to be a pistol in his pocket.  When New Orleans Police Officers arrived to investigate, POWELL ran.  He was apprehended after a brief chase but no longer had the pistol.  Officers traced his route of flight and found the pistol in the side yard of a house along POWELL’s path of flight.  POWELL had previously been convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm in St. Charles Parish.

POWELL is set to be sentenced on April 18, 2023.  He faces up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

This case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department, Louisiana Probation and Parole, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.