Department of Justice

SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that two men from Shreveport were sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. for illegally possessing firearms.

Damontra Vonravious Mandigo, 22, was sentenced to 87 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Shreveport Police Department officers were patrolling an area in Shreveport on March 15, 2021 and observed a vehicle parked in the driveway of a vacant residence. Officers made contact with the individual in the driver’s seat, later identified as Mandigo. A search was conducted of his vehicle and law enforcement officers found a Zastava 7.62x39mm pistol. Officers were aware that Mandigo was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition. He was arrested and later admitted to agents that the firearm was his. Mandigo’s prior felony convictions were for illegal use of a weapon in 2011, and attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2018.

Tramarciea Jovan Ruffins a/k/a “JJ,” 29, was sentenced to 50 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Ruffins was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 13, 2021 and he pleaded guilty to the charge on February 28, 2022. Officers with the Shreveport Police Department and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) attempted to make contact with Ruffins and another individual in a vehicle in the Cooper Road area of Shreveport on March 11, 2021. When the driver saw police, he drove off and fled the scene. Police chased the vehicle until it crashed. Both Ruffins and the driver jumped out after the crash and fled on foot. Police used K-9 dogs to locate them hidden in an exterior utility closet on Tulsa Street in Shreveport. Ruffins and the driver were arrested and advised of their Miranda rights. Officers searched the area and located firearms loaded with ammunition against the side wall of the residence where they were hiding. Ruffins admitted to law enforcement officers that he had been in possession of the Smith and Wesson .45 caliber pistol. Ruffins was previously convicted of aggravated battery in 2014, and felon in possession of a firearm in 2018.

Both of these cases were investigated by the ATF and Shreveport Police Department and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.