Jaequan Bailey, age 31, pleaded guilty on June 25 to being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to an announcement by United States Attorney David I. Courcelle on July 16. Bailey faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, at least three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. Sentencing is scheduled for October 15.
According to court documents, on September 26, 2024, Bailey drove a black Acura with another individual as his passenger to the intersection of Tullis Drive and Woodland Drive in New Orleans. Upon arrival, Bailey fired multiple shots from a Glock Model 19X pistol while the other individual fired a semiautomatic rifle at two people nearby. Both individuals fled the scene afterward.
New Orleans Police Department officers responded shortly after receiving a report of gunfire at the intersection. Officers found one male victim with a gunshot wound on Tullis Drive and recovered five nine-millimeter cartridge casings and seventeen seven-point-six-two-millimeter casings from the area.
In November 2024, an arrest warrant for an unrelated matter was issued for Bailey. On November 26, officers confirmed that he lived in Elmwood with his girlfriend. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies assisted NOPD officers in executing both arrest and search warrants at his residence, where they found the black Acura used during the shooting incident.
During their search of Bailey’s apartment, deputies recovered his cellphone hidden inside the toilet tank and located the Glock Model 19X pistol concealed in a dresser drawer. Ballistics confirmed that cartridge casings from the September shooting matched this weapon.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations along with local law enforcement agencies and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy L. Bell from the Violent Crime Unit. The case forms part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice through Project Safe Neighborhoods—to address violent crime.