DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Louisiana

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Stephanie A. Finley
, United States Attorney
Contact: Mona Hardwick

Shreveport Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Darrell Rogers Johns, 32, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter, to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. Judge Walter also ordered that the firearm and ammunition involved be forfeited. Johns was found guilty on October 9, 2013, after a two-day bench trial.

Based on witness testimony, documents and other evidence presented at the trial, it was established that on February 11, 2011, Shreveport police stopped Johns’ vehicle because it matched the description of a vehicle sought in an ongoing criminal case. Johns gave consent to search his vehicle, and 11 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition was found. His residence was also searched, and a Smith & Wesson handgun loaded with 12 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition was found. Johns accompanied another person earlier to two pawn shops where he directed the person to purchase the firearm at one pawn shop and then to purchase the ammunition at a second pawn shop.

Johns was on parole at the time of his arrest. Before his arrest, he was convicted of the following state felony charges: possession of a Schedule II, controlled dangerous substance (cocaine), Caddo Parish District Court, 1999; forgery, Caddo Parish District Court, 2001; unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, Caddo Parish District Court, 2005; possession of a Schedule II, controlled dangerous substance (crack cocaine), Caddo Parish District Court, 2006; and attempted possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I, controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), Bossier Parish District Court, 2010.

The Shreveport Police Department; the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Probation and Parole; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program started in 2001 to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms laws.

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New Orleans Field Division