Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Crescent City Connection Shooter Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Machine Gun
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on October 3 ,2023 Xavier Duhon, age 21, pled guilty to a superseding bill of information for possession of a machinegun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o). Duhon faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. Duhon is set for sentencing on January 9, 2024.
On March 23, 2023, following a traffic collision, Duhon fired upon another vehicle while crossing the Crescent City Connection bridge, Eastbank-bound. Law enforcement officers attempted to stop Duhon’s vehicle, but Duhon led officers on a vehicle, and then foot, pursuit. Duhon was arrested a short time later in the 900 block of Magazine Street. As officers reviewed surveillance video and retraced Duhon’s path of flight, they recovered two pistols, each equipped with a machinegun conversion device.
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 of Justice 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Dawkins of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
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