Prosecutions part of Project CeaseFire, which targets dangerous
felons and drug traffickers with firearms in the Savannah area
SAVANNAH, GA - Two Savannah residents, Jacques Pope, 21, and Antwan Clark, 24, were sentenced last Thursday by Senior District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield for their roles in federal firearms violations in the Savannah area. Pope was sentenced to 96 months in prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition; Clark was sentenced to 84 months in prison for, in part, possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Judge Edenfield ordered that both sentences run consecutive to state sentences that defendants were currently serving for unrelated crimes.
Evidence during the sentencing hearings revealed that Pope, a felon, discharged a firearm on New Year’s Eve, 2011, and struck a pedestrian. While a firearm was not recovered, evidence linked the discharged ammunition to Pope. Clark was sentenced after Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team executed a search warrant at his residence where marijuana, cocaine, and loaded firearms were recovered.
Both cases were prosecuted under Project Ceasefire, a joint firearms initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office, the ATF, and the Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Department. Project Ceasefire is a cooperative effort between federal and local law enforcement agencies to combat gun crime by targeting felons previously convicted of drug offenses or crimes of violence and who are found to be in possession of firearms, as well as those who commit violent gun offenses. During 2012, the United States Attorney’s Office charged 55 defendants with federal firearms offenses that were committed in the Savannah area.
United States Attorney Tarver said, “Law enforcement’s top priority is the safety of our citizens. We will bring the full force of justice on dangerous criminals who possess firearms. Those dangerous felons who possess firearms will be investigated, prosecuted, and can expect to serve lengthy prison sentences in federal prison.
Assistant United States Attorneys Tania Groover and Carlton R. Bourne prosecuted the cases against Pope and Clark for the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
