TYLER, Texas - A 39-year-old Longview, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
John Blake London pleaded guilty on Dec. 2, 2014, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.
According to information presented in court, on July 9, 2014, London was driving a car in Longview when he was detained by a police officer because he had parked in a roadway and was impeding traffic. During the course of the detention, the officer discovered that London had an active warrant so the officer placed him under arrest. The officer then learned that the only passenger in the car had no valid driver’s license, so the officer called for a tow truck and performed an inventory of the car. During the course of the inventory, the officer discovered a sawed-off shotgun. The officer checked London’s criminal history and found that he had been previously convicted of forgery in Gregg County in 2012 and possession of cocaine in Tarrant County in 2008. Convicted felons are prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. London was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 17, 2014.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Longview Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
