Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City, Missouri, man has been convicted by a federal jury of illegally possessing the firearm he used to shoot another person during an argument.

Dana Ray Day, Jr., 31, was found guilty at trial on Wednesday, Dec. 15, of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

On Sept. 15, 2018, Day got into an argument with another man after hitting his car. Day pulled out a Taurus .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and shot the other man, who was not armed, twice – in the chest and the groin. The shooting victim ran to a nearby apartment and the resident called 911 for him. Day fled from the scene of the shooting.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Day has prior felony convictions for tampering with a motor vehicle, domestic assault, assault, and resisting arrest.

The Taurus handgun, which had been purchased by another person and given to Day, was later recovered during a homicide investigation by the Chicago, Illinois, Police Department. The shell casing was entered into the NIBIN database, and matched the shell casing recovered from the scene of the Sept. 15, 2018, shooting in Jefferson City.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for an hour and 15 minutes before returning a guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough, ending a two-day trial that began Tuesday, Dec. 14.

Under federal statutes, Swopes is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be held on May 19, 2022.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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 work together 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.