DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Middle District of Georgia

For Immediate Release

Monday, March 19, 2018
Charles E. Peeler
, United States Attorney
Contact: Pamela Lightsey

Felon with Firearm Sentenced to 98 Months in Prison

Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that on March 15, 2018, Senior United States District Court Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Michael Trevor Haynes, age 37, of Moultrie, GA, to 98 months imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Mr. Haynes was found guilty of the charges on August 8, 2017, following a jury trial.  Evidence presented showed that on August 10, 2016, two Moultrie, Georgia police officers approached a vehicle in which the defendant was sitting. The officers began questioning Mr. Haynes as he sat in the car. The car door was open and Mr. Haynes had his legs out the door and his feet on the ground. Mr. Haynes provided officers with a false name and a false date of birth. Some of Mr. Haynes’ family began walking toward the car from a home nearby. When the officers began to ask them about the defendant’s identity, Mr. Haynes charged one of the officers and struck him in the face. The other officer grabbed Mr. Haynes in an effort to prevent him from fleeing. Mr. Haynes then hit that officer in the face. The officers were eventually forced to use tasers twice to subdue him. During the arrest, officers removed a .38 caliber revolver from Mr. Haynes’ right front pocket. During a search of Mr. Haynes at the local jail facility, officers found two small bags of marijuana on his person. They later caught Mr. Haynes attempting to flush another small bag of marijuana down a toilet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October, 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

"Mr. Haynes is an example of the type of person Project Safe Neighborhoods is designed to get off the streets: a man with a prior conviction of a violent crime, who desperately and violently resisted arrest until forcibly subdued, all the while carrying a concealed handgun. It is so very fortunate that his illegal weapon did not come into play during his arrest," said United States Attorney Peeler.

The case was investigated by the Macon Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Moultrie Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sonja B. Profit prosecuted the case for the United States.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.

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Atlanta Field Division