Jermaine Fairnot, a 46-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, was found guilty by a federal jury on Aug. 5 of multiple felony charges related to narcotics distribution and firearm possession near a children’s playground in Southwest Washington.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the verdict and said, “Jermaine Fairnot is a repeat offender who chose to possess PCP while armed with a loaded gun just feet from a children’s playground. Today a federal jury found him guilty on all counts, and now he’s facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison, which is exactly where career criminals like Fairnot belong.”
After four days of trial and approximately six hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Fairnot on two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of unlawful possession with intent to distribute PCP, and one count of unlawful possession with intent to distribute PCP within 1,000 feet of a playground. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg scheduled sentencing for Nov. 24.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Metropolitan Police Department officers encountered Fairnot’s vehicle at King Greenleaf Recreation Center on Oct. 14, 2022. Officers observed men standing around his Toyota Camry; upon police arrival, the group dispersed. Officers then discovered the barrel of a handgun protruding from under the driver’s seat and recovered both firearms and narcotics from the vehicle.
Further investigation led law enforcement to arrest Fairnot weeks later while he met his probation officer at court on Nov. 9, 2022. A search involving canine units uncovered additional drugs including cocaine base and more PCP, as well as another loaded firearm in his car.
Fairnot has three prior convictions for narcotics offenses that resulted in sentences longer than one year each; as such, he was prohibited from possessing firearms at the time these offenses occurred.
The case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Washington Field Office with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office.