MONROE, La. - United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a West Monroe felon pleaded guilty on Jan. 17, 2019 to unlawfully possessing a pistol.
Michael Holder, 41, of West Monroe, Louisiana, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, to one count of felon in possession of a firearm. According to the guilty plea, an officer with the Ouachita Parish Task Force conducted a traffic stop on Holder’s vehicle June 9, 2017. The officer discovered that Holder had a warrant from the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office and asked Holder to exit the vehicle. Holder told the officer he was sitting on a BB gun. Instead of a BB gun, it turned out to be a loaded Glock, Model 17, 9mm-caliber pistol. The officer also found a glass smoking pipe with suspected methamphetamine in Holder’s back pocket.
Holder faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for May 15 2019.
The ATF and the Ouachita Parish Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
