NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DARIUS STOKES, age 30, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty yesterday to a one count federal indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Federal law prohibits individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes from possessing firearms after being convicted.
STOKES faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a period of supervised release of 3 years, and a mandatory special assessment of $100.00. The Honorable Susie Morgan, United States District Court Judge of the Eastern District of Louisiana, will sentence STOKES on June 18, 2019.
STOKES’ case has been designated as a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) 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.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany L. Reed is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
