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NEW ORLEANS, LA –  On January 19, 2023, Chief United States District Court Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced JAMES VAN CLEAVE, 36, of New Orleans, Louisiana, to thirteen (13) months imprisonment for violating the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, VAN CLEAVE previously pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  VAN CLEAVE, who had been convicted in 2007 for assault with a deadly weapon, was found to be in possession of a firearm on August 18, 2021.

Judge Brown sentenced VAN CLEAVE to a thirteen (13) month term of imprisonment and ordered that he serve three (3) years of supervised release following his prison sentence.  VAN CLEAVE was also ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

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.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Kennedy.