Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced AUGUST NETTLES, a 21-year-old resident of Baton Rouge, to 42 months in federal prison following his convictions of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen firearm. That sentence is to run consecutively to any sentence NETTLES receives from a pending 2nd degree murder charge in East Baton Rouge Parish. The Court further sentenced NETTLES to 3 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. The Court also ordered that the firearm possessed by NETTLES be forfeited.

On July, 27, 2017, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies, in connection with a homicide investigation, sought to locate and interview several persons who may have had information concerning the incident. NETTLES was listed among the persons law enforcement officers sought to contact. The officers’ investigation ultimately led them to a Motel 6, located here in the Middle District of Louisiana. NETTLES was located in Room 208, along with a female associate.

A search of the room revealed an Arcus, 98DA Model, 9mm caliber pistol, lodged between the mattress and box springs of the bed wherein NETTLES had been lying. NETTLES provided a statement admitting possession of the firearm.

Additional investigation revealed that on July 27, 2017, NETTLES had already been convicted of at least one felony offense. Specifically, on September 29, 2016, Nettles pled guilty to Illegal Possession of a Stolen Firearm, a felony offense, in East Baton Rouge Parish.

U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, "The seriousness of convicted felons carrying guns in our neighborhoods cannot be overstated. Our community is safer as a result of this conviction and sentence, and I am extremely proud of the joint efforts of our prosecutors, the ATF and Sheriff Gautreaux’s office in this and many other important matters."

ATF Resident Agent-in-Charge Antonio L. Pittman stated, "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with our law enforcement partners continue to serve our communities by focusing our efforts on removing armed violent felons from our streets. I am proud of the work we are conducting in conjunction with our community. We

will continue to work diligently to protect our citizens by presenting relevant investigative work to our Middle District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution."

East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux stated, "This indictment is one example of the collaboration of local, state and federal agencies to get dangerous criminals and weapons off our streets. The EBR Sheriff's Office is committed to continuing to work with all our law enforcement counterparts to ensure the safety of our residents. I'm grateful to the U.S. Attorney's Office for their hard work and dedication in prosecuting these cases that our agents have worked so hard to develop".

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Jefferson.

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