United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced DUSTIN JACK MALONE, a 34-year-old resident of French Settlement, Louisiana, to 110 months in federal prison following his conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Court further sentenced Malone to 3 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. The Court also ordered that the firearm possessed by Malone be forfeited.
On September 7, 2017, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Deputies responded to a domestic dispute about a man with a gun at a residence. Shortly thereafter, Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a white pickup truck being driven by Malone and saw in plain view, a 12-gauge shotgun with a barrel of less than 17 inches within the reach of Malone.
Additional investigation revealed that Malone had already been convicted of at least one felony offense. During the sentencing, after an extensive hearing, the Judge enhanced Malone’s sentence, finding that Malone possessed in the truck, a second sawed off shotgun with an obliterated serial number. In handing down the 110 month sentence, the Judge found that Malone had pointed the sawed off 12-gauge shotgun at one of the persons involved in the domestic dispute, that Malone has an “extensive criminal history and extensive prior [illegal] drug use."
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “Domestic disputes involving guns are one of the most volatile situations in our society for both the participants and for law enforcement. The defendant introduced a gun into an already volatile situation which could have ended tragically. Thankfully, no one was injured and it ended with the defendant being held accountable for his actions. This prosecution and sentence should serve as a stark reminder that felons with guns have our attention and will be aggressively pursued and prosecuted with great vigor. I sincerely appreciate the effort of our prosecutors, the ATF and the EBRSO - this is yet another example of how local and federal collaboration yields positive results for our community."
ATF Resident Agent-in-Charge Antonio L. Pittman stated, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with our law enforcement partners continue to serve our communities by focusing our efforts on removing armed violent felons from our streets. I am proud of the work we are conducting in conjunction with our community. We will continue to work diligently to protect our citizens by presenting relevant investigative work to our Middle District of Louisiana US Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution."
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyman E. Thornton III.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
