NORFOLK, Va. - A Norfolk man was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Earlon Delton Mitchell, 29, is a nine-time felon who had recently finished a 10-year prison sentence for committing two armed robberies in which he shot his victims. In September 2017, Norfolk police executed outstanding arrest warrants on Mitchell. After struggling to arrest Mitchell for roughly two minutes, the officers managed to detain him and recovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun tucked into his pant leg. Mitchell is also a self-admitted gang member and general of the 9 Trey Blood Set.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:18-cr-117.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
