Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Florida Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm
MONROE, La. – A Florida man was sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised released for illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
Richard Dean Stephenson, 28, of Tampa, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James for one count of possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony. According to evidence presented at the April 16, 2014 guilty plea, from September 1, 2013 to October 2, 2013, Stephenson possessed a Bryco .380 caliber pistol and ammunition after having previously been convicted of a felony. After learning that Stephenson may have a weapon, law enforcement officers found the gun and ammunition during a search at his Kilbourne, La., residence. Stephenson has numerous previous felony convictions in Florida including aggravated assault with deadly weapons and grand theft in 2006.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department of Justice initiative designed to reduce firearm crimes by removing dangerous and persistent felons from the community and promote firearm safety.
The Oak Grove Police Department, the West Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case.
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