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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On February 1, 2023 Senior United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced JOSHUA REED, age 24, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, to five years in prison for illegally possessing a gun after having been convicted of a felony offense, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, New Orleans Police Department officers approached REED at a gas station in New Orleans East.  During a search of his vehicle, the officers found a Glock pistol, which REED admitted that he possessed.  REED also acknowledged that he had previously been convicted of burglary, which is a felony offense.

REED’s imprisonment will be followed by  three years of supervised release.  Judge Lemelle also ordered REED to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

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.

The case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.