Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Hattiesburg Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm
Hattiesburg Miss. – A Hattiesburg man was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to court documents, Jamarquis Vasean Tate, 25, was found to be in possession of a firearm by the Hattiesburg Police Department after officers responded to a reported disturbance at a local area hotel on December 3, 2021. Hattiesburg police officers encountered Tate, who fled on foot but was detained shortly thereafter. The officer observed Tate throw a firearm away from his body during the chase, and this was confirmed by bodycam video that recorded the incident. The firearm was recovered.
Tate was indicted by a federal grand jury and subsequently pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Allen.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.