Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that JOSEPH METZLER, III, age 44, of Gretna, La., pleaded guilty on April 2, 2024 before U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long, to possession of an unregistered silencer.

According to court records, federal agents learned that METZLER received unlawfully imported firearm parts from China. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents, as well as Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department officers, executed a search warrant at METZLER’s residence. As a result, they discovered that he possessed a silencer that was not registered to him, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5861(d).

METZLER faces up to ten (10) years imprisonment, followed by up to three (3) years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2024.

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 Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

Contact
Shane M. Jones

Public Information Officer

United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana

United States Department of Justice